Colby College was playing in a Final Four of Division III Women’s Lacrosse for the first time in school history on Friday evening at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. The Mules forced overtime with a late goal in the fourth quarter, before #1 nationally ranked Middlebury College got the game winner from Skylar Lach in the extra session to pull out a 13-12 victory.
Middlebury got off to a quick start and built a 6-2 lead on a goal by Caroline Adams early in the second quarter. Colby fought back and an unassisted tally by Ainsley Dion with 7:23 left in the third gave them their only advantage of the evening at 8-7. The Panthers would score the next three unanswered to gain back a 10-8 lead, before two markers from Mules leading scorer Julie Jardina in a span of 2:09 tied it up. In what was an exciting and high tempo back and forth contest, Maggie Coughlin and Hope Shue found the back of the net 57 seconds apart for a 12-10 Middlebury lead with just 3:33 left to play. Genie Littlejohn struck back for Colby 50 seconds later to cut it to one, and Gisele Uva send it to overtime by scoring with just 17 seconds left in regulation unassisted. The game winner in the extra session by Lach came at 3:25 also unassisted, giving the Panthers the victory and a chance on Sunday at back to back national titles.
Jardina led Colby in the loss with five goals and one assists. She finishes her terrific senior season with 71 goals and 11 assists on the year. Kins Helmer had one goal and two assists, and Dion finished with a pair of goals. Jillian Kane and Gigi Peloso both played in net making three saves each, with Kane suffering the defeat. The Mules end a historic year with a 17-4 record, falling to the top team in the country by a goal in each of their matchups this season. Shue led the Panthers in the win with six goals and two assists, while Elizabeth Savage had six saves in net. Middlebury (20-1) will face Tufts University (20-1) for the national title on Sunday at 12 p.m. The Jumbos defeated Gettysburg College 18-13 in the other semifinal on Friday night.
Featured photo courtesy of Colby College
