SALISBURY, Md. - The final minutes of Tuesday's women's lacrosse showdown here against No. 6 Salisbury and No. 7 Middlebury seemed like an eternity for the Sea Gulls. The swarming defense of the Panthers pressured the Gulls until the final whistle, when SU celebrated an 11-10 win before a crowd of 300.

"I give credit to Middlebury. They were all over us," said SU coach Jim Nestor. "Whenever you can beat a quality team like Middlebury you have to be happy."

The one-goal win is the smallest margin of victory between the two schools dating back to 1999. Salisbury (10-0) has won the last three meetings between Middlebury (1-1). This was the fourth straight year the two teams met during the regular season and the first-time the site of the game was not neutral.

Salisbury received a pair of goals from seniors Katie Simmons, Stephanie Shores and Ani Khatchatoorian along with two from sophomore Holly Johnson, including the eventual game-winner with 9:20 left in the game. Junior Sue Ackermann passed out a game-high five assists to up her season total to 33.

Middlebury seniors Liza Humes (three goals, one assist) and Claire Edelen scored a game-high three goals apiece to lead the Panthers. Katherine Entwisle and Kim Walker scored two goals each and junior Amanda Smith added two assists in the loss.

Each team scored their goals in bunches as the game saw four ties and three lead changes. SU scored the game's first two goals followed by three from Middlebury. The longest goal run was five by the Gulls in the first half. The Panthers scored the final two goals before the half to cut the SU lead to one, 8-7, at the break.

In the second half, SU scored quickly on Shores' second goal of the game. The Panthers answered with back-to-back goals from Entwisle and Humes. Salisbury broke the 9-9 tie with a goal from Khatchatoorian off a feed from senior Natalie Degele. Johnson scored 12 minutes later off Ackermann's fifth assist only to watch Edelen score eight seconds later to reduce the SU advantage to 11-10.

The final stats reflect how close the game was as Middlebury outshot Salisbury 27-26 and won 13-of-23 draw controls. SU scooped up 22 groundballs to Middlebury's 15. The Panthers had 23 turnovers and the Gulls committed 19.

SU freshman goalie Natalie Pappas made seven saves in the game while Middlebury sophomore Blair Bowie stopped 12.

Salisbury will next travel to Franklin & Marshall, ranked No. 5 in last week's IWLCA poll, on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. game.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Middlebury..........  7  3 - 10
Salisbury...........  8  3 - 11
 
Middlebury SCORING:
GOALS: Liza Humes 3; Claire Edelen 3; Katherine Entwisle 2;
       Kim Walker 2.
ASSISTS: Amanda Smith 2; Liza Humes 1.
 
Salisbury SCORING:
GOALS: Katie Simmons 2; Stephanie Shores 2; Ani Khatchatoorian 2;
       Holly Johnson 2; Natalie Degele 1; Jessica Chmielewski 1;
       Beth Rhodey 1.
ASSISTS: Sue Ackermann 5; Natalie Degele 1; Kelly Mulligan 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Middlebury.......... 16 11 - 27
Salisbury........... 14 12 - 26
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Middlebury..........  8  7 - 15
Salisbury...........  9 13 - 22
 
DRAW CONTROLS BY PRD  1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Middlebury.......... 10  3 - 13
Salisbury...........  6  4 - 10
 
FREE-POSITION SHOTS    1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
Middlebury..........  1-1   0-0  -  1-1
Salisbury...........  2-4   0-1  -  2-5
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Middlebury..........  5  7 - 12
Salisbury...........  3  4 -  7
 
FOULS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Middlebury.......... 10 11 - 21
Salisbury...........  8  4 - 12
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Middlebury.......... 10 13 - 23
Salisbury...........  9 10 - 19
 
SCORING SUMMARY:
    Prd  Time Team Goal Scorer                Assists               H-V
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. 1st 28:27 SAL  Jessica Chmielewski (10).. Sue Ackermann (29)..  1-0
 2.     25:56 SAL  Katie Simmons (20)........ Free position shot..  2-0
 3.     20:57 MID  Claire Edelen (1)......... Unassisted..........  2-1
 4.     19:58 MID  Kim Walker (2)............ Free position shot..  2-2
 5.     19:04 MID  Katherine Entwisle (5).... Unassisted..........  2-3
 6.     17:16 SAL  Ani Khatchatoorian (16)... Unassisted..........  3-3
 7.     16:36 MID  Kim Walker (3)............ Unassisted..........  3-4
 8.     16:25 MID  Liza Humes (2)............ Unassisted..........  3-5
 9.     11:16 SAL  Holly Johnson (5)......... Sue Ackermann (30)..  4-5
10.     10:27 SAL  Beth Rhodey (7)........... Sue Ackermann (31)..  5-5
11.      7:53 SAL  Stephanie Shores (23)..... Kelly Mulligan (2)..  6-5
12.      4:17 SAL  Katie Simmons (21)........ Free position shot..  7-5
13.      3:11 SAL  Natalie Degele (16)....... Sue Ackermann (32)..  8-5
14.      2:30 MID  Claire Edelen (2)......... Liza Humes (2)......  8-6
15.      1:21 MID  Liza Humes (3)............ Unassisted..........  8-7
16. 2nd 28:17 SAL  Stephanie Shores (24)..... Unassisted..........  9-7
17.     27:20 MID  Katherine Entwisle (6).... Amanda Smith (3)....  9-8
18.     26:11 MID  Liza Humes (4)............ Amanda Smith (4)....  9-9
19.     21:47 SAL  Ani Khatchatoorian (17)... Natalie Degele (20). 10-9
20.      9:20 SAL  Holly Johnson (6)......... Sue Ackermann (33).. 11-9
21.      9:12 MID  Claire Edelen (3)......... Unassisted.......... 11-10

2007-03-27