SCHENECTADY, NY – Senior midfielder Kim Walker (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) scored four goals as Middlebury, ranked #3 in numerous national NCAA Division III polls, held on for a 10-9 non-league women's lacrosse victory over host Union College at Frank Bailey Field Tuesday afternoon. The Panthers improved to 11-1 with their 10th straight victory, while the Dutchwomen, 8-4, had a five-game winning streak snapped.
Amanda Smith (Greenwich, NJ/Greenwich) and Katherine Entwisle (Lower Gwynedd, PA/Penn Charter) scored two goals each for Middlebury, while Claire Edelen (Sparks, MD/St. Paul) assisted on four Panther tallies.
Union was led by junior attack
Erin Lawson (Flourtown, PA/Springside), who scored three goals, freshman midfielder
Allie Cuozzo (Norfolk, MA/King Phillip Regional), who had three points that included two assists, and senior
Allie Toney (Bayville, NY/Locust Valley), who scored twice in the contest. Union goaltender
Stephanie Burlton (Coquitlam, BC/Milton Academy) made six saves while Middlebury's Blair Bowie (Washington, DC/National Cathedral) stopped eight Union shots.
Union had a slight edge in shots (22-21), and the teams each had 18 ground balls for the day. Union converted two of three free position opportunities while Middlebury converted both free position chances. The Panthers won 11 of the 21 draw controls.
The Dutchwomen, ranked as high as #13 in the
Inside Lacrosse Division III ranking, jumped out to a 2-0 lead and a 4-0 shot advantage in the first nine minutes. Lawson opened the scoring at 25:19 and Toney followed up with an unassisted goal at 21:09. Walker tied it with two goals, with the second coming at 14:26, but Lawson gave Union the lead on a feed from Cuozzo at 13:40. After
Keri Messa (Saratoga Springs, NY/Hotchkiss School) made it 4-2 Union at 10:34, the Panthers scored four straight for a 6-4 lead with 5:25 left. Walker scored her fourth of the half on a free position at 5:25. Union Freshman
Keelin Skurek (Massillon, NY/Western Reserve Academy) scored on a free position shot with 1:03 for the 6-5 halftime score.
Union tied it on Lawson's 15
th of the season from Cuozzo just 1:41 into the second half, and Toney converted from the right of Bowie with a nice 10 yard feed from
Caitlin Cuozzo (Norfolk, MA/King Phillip Regional) for Union's final lead, 7-6 with 26:17 left in the second half. Entwisle notched her 20
th at 24:57 to tie it, then Smith added insurance with goals at 23:15 and 20:48 for a 9-7 lead. With 18:45 left, Toney scored her 29
th of the year but Middlebury made it 10-8 on Entwisle's 12:53 tally with an outside pass from Edelen.
Stephanie Cronan (Marblehead, MA/Marblehead) scored her team leading 36
th of the season on a free position shot with 1:27 left in regulation to make it 10-9 Middlebury. The Panthers won the draw but turned it over behind the Union net with 1:00 remaining. The Dutchwomen had a chance to tie but Messa's shot five yards directly in front was stopped by Bowie with 38 seconds left in regulation.
Union ends the regular season with a Liberty League road game at Vassar Friday at 5 p.m. The Dutchwomen will play in the Liberty League Tournament Semi-Finals at Hamilton vs. an opponent to be announced at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 4.
