#2 Middlebury Holds Off Dickinson, 12-7

The Middlebury women's lacrosse team used a four-goal run at the start of the second half to pull away from Dickinson, as the Panthers posted a 12-7 road win on Tuesday in Pennsylvania. The game marked the first meeting between to the two programs. Second-ranked Middlebury (6-0) caps off its brief two-game southern swing tomorrow at Stevenson at 4:30 p.m.

The Panthers got off to a quick start, when Megan Griffin scored on a feed from Mary O'Connell just 38 seconds into the game. Middlebury made it 2-0 game minutes later on a Bridget Instrum unassisted tally.

The Red Devils (3-3) got on the scoreboard 7:20 into the game on a goal by Jennifer Morrissey, but
Instrum quickly responded for the Panthers with her second marker of the game 33 seconds later. Instrum pushed the difference to 4-1, making a nice spin move and then putting a high shot over Dickinson goalie Tara Cuddihy. Griffin made is a 5-1 contest with 8:20 left in the half, while the Red Devils picked up the final two goals of the opening frame as Middlebury led 5-3 at the break.

The Panthers came out firing in the second half, scoring the first four goals to take a 9-3 lead. Hollis Perticone recorded the first 2:53 into the fresh period and 1:13 later, Instrum fed a pass from behind the net to a charging Alli Sciarretta, who caught the ball and fired a diving shot just outside the crease. Chrissy Ritter used a wrap-around goal to make it 8-3 and Sciarretta capped off the four-goal run with a high shot on an assist from O'Connell, who was set behind the home team's net. That goal came with 9:43 expired.

Dickinson notched the game's next three goals to close the difference to three (9-6) with under 10 minutes left in regulation.

Middlebury closed out the game scoring three of the final four goals. Pascal netted the first two, sandwiched around a goal by Maddy Seibold for the Red Devils. Sciarretta picked up the game's final goal with 4:20 on the clock. The Panthers limited Dickinson to only one possession after that and ran off the final 1:36 when Evie Keating collected a ground ball.

Instrum scored three goals and assisted on another, to go along with a team-high four ground balls. Sciarretta scored three times, while Pascal and Griffin each had two goals and an assist. Pascal also won five draw controls. Ritter had a steady game with a goal, two draw controls, two ground balls and four caused turnovers.

Morrissey topped the Red Devils with three goals, while Sam Marmo had two goals and two assists.
Kate Furber earned the win playing the opening 30 minutes, while Madeleine Kinker (1 save) was between the pipes in the second half. Cuddihy finished with 15 saves for the Red Devils as the Panthers held a decisive 39-12 edge in shots. Middlebury also won the battle of ground balls 25-15.