MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The No. 11 nationally ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team put a major scare on for No. 1 Middlebury as the Cardinals led 11-9 with 8:44 remaining but three unanswered Panther goals in the closing minutes proved enough for Middlebury to escape with a 12-11 win on a rain soaked Saturday afternoon. Wesleyan (8-2, 3-2 NESCAC) gave the perennial national power Middlebury (11-0, 6-0 NESCAC) everything they could handle but it wasn't enough to deny the Panthers a 36^th straight victory.
 
The driving rain and slick conditions didn't phase Wesleyan in the first quarter, as the Cardinals rattled off three straight goals to open the game. Olivia Lai '23 got the scoring started just 1:49 into play as she bounced in a free position marker, before Kate Balicki '23 spun around a defender and slung a sidearm shot into the goal with just under 10 minutes to go in the stanza.
 
After causing a turnover and scooping up the loose ball, Lai raced down the field and connected with Laura Baine '24 to make it 3-0 Cardinals in the early going. Middlebury then turned on offensively, scoring five of the next six goals to build a 5-4 lead after one.
 
With 12:49 left in the second quarter, Grace Getman converted a free position and Middlebury led 6-4 but Balick managed another impressive goal as she caught a high pass from Lai in the middle and tucked the ball just under the crossbar to cut the Middlebury lead down to one.
 
The Panthers answered back with a free position goal but Wesleyan scored two more before the halftime break as Lai sent in a low, sidearm shot that skidded off the slick turn and tickled into the goal to cap the first half scoring and make it 7-7 at the break.
 
Wesleyan started the second half much like the first, tallying three straight goals for it second three-goal lead of the game. Balicki again got involved with a free position strike inside the left post to make it 8-7. Nearly three minutes later, an initial Balicki shot hit the post but Kaitlyn McMullan '22 was there to scoop up the loose ball and score a quick marker. Erin Trotta '23 then caused a turnover in the Middlebury defensive end and tossed the ball across the field. The wind carried the ball but Balicki tracked it down and scored for the 10-7 advantage. Middlebury cut the deficit back down to one before the end of the quarter as Susan Rowley scored on an extra-player advantage as Wesleyan led 10-9 after three.
 
Kendall Mittleman '23 found some fortune with a goal 6:16 into the fourth quarter as her pass went into traffic and the Middlebury keeper, expecting the ball to hit a player, wasn't able to react in time for the stop as the Cardinals led 11-9. That, however, was the last goal the Cardinals could muster for the game as Hope Shue converted back-to-back free position shots to make it 11-11 with 6:27 to go. The game-winner came with exactly two minutes left as Lily Riseberg found Niki Mormile in the middle before Mormile lifted the ball over the shoulder of Corin Grady '22 to give Middlebury a 12-11 edge. Wesleyan had one final chance to tie the game with 13 ticks on the clock but Balicki's attempt was saved to secure the win for the Panthers.
 
The stats were nearly dead even across the board as the teams tied in shots (25-25), saved (9-9) and clears (18-for-22) while Middlebury had one more turnover (18-17), Wesleyan had three more ground balls (16-13) and one more draw control (14-13).
 
Wesleyan is just the second team to score double digit goals on Middlebury this season. Offensively, Lai led the way with four goals and two assists for a career-high six points. Balicki also had a career day with a new career-high five points on the strength of a career-high four goals. Gil Horst '23 and Indigo Pellegrini de Paur '21, G'22 racked up five draw controls each while Trotta posted five caused turnovers. Grady, who entered in relief in the second quarter, played very well making seven saves with six goals allowed despite taking the hard luck loss.
 
Middlebury featured a balanced attack with six players registering at least two points while eight different Panthers scored at least one goal. Jane Earley had two goals, one assist and four draw controls while Lily Riseberg posted three assists.
 
After four straight games on the road, Wesleyan heads back home for four straight NESCAC games starting on Wednesday night with a 6 PM start against in-state foe Trinity.