#6 Middlebury Edges #9 Women's Lacrosse, 11-8

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- In a battle of two of the nation's top 10 teams, sixth-ranked Middlebury held off visiting #9 Babson for an 11-8 win in a non-conference women's lacrosse matchup on Friday afternoon. The Panthers are now 2-0 on the year, while the Beavers suffer their first loss to fall to 2-1.

Junior Anna Collins paced Babson with three goals, senior captain Jackie Godfrey added one goal and two assists, and sophomore Sarah Macary posted 11 saves in net.

Trailing 1-0, Middlebury ran off five straight first half goals to take a 5-1 lead with 10:27 remaining. Sally Ryan and Elizabeth Garry each scored twice during the run, while Ryan assisted on a goal. Babson answered with a goal from Collins before the Panthers closed the first half with three free position goals in :59 seconds to take an 8-2 lead into the intermission. Ryan scored her third of the game to begin the spurt, while Dana Heritage netted the next two.

Babson opened the second half with three straight goals, including the third of the game from Collins, to make it an 8-5 game with 19:27 remaining. Heritage ended the run for the Panthers, before the Beavers cut the lead to 9-6 on a tally from Godfrey at the 13:44 mark. Middlebury answered before senior captain Lindsay Bucci and first-year Trisha Babson cut the lead to 10-8 with 5:58 left to play.

Babson had a chance to make it a one-goal game with 3:25 left, but a free position shot was denied by Blair Bowie. The Panthers gained some breathing room on a goal from Taylor Brown with 2:04 left to play, making it an 11-8 final.

Ryan and Heritage each scored three goals in the win, while Garry added a pair. Bowie made seven saves in goal to earn the win.

NOTE: Taken from a Middlebury College press release.