The top-ranked Middlebury women's lacrosse team snapped #2 Tufts' 12-game unbeaten streak, holding off the Jumbos to claim a 16-15 win. The Panthers improve to 13-0 and remain the lone undefeated NESCAC team standings, claiming 64-consecutive triumphs. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury got things going with a pair of goals in the opening five minutes. Hope Shue bounced in a free-position marker from center hash with 59 seconds gone, before tallying a quick-stick on a dish from Maggie Coughlin for the 2-0 edge.
• The Jumbos answered with two-consecutive markers to make it 2-2. Ella Lesperance slipped the ball over goalie Gina Driscoll's left shoulder and Allie Zorn found nylon between several defenders.
• With 7:33 remaining, Kate Motley gave the Panthers a 3-2 edge with a free-position goal into the right panel.
• Skylar Lach increased the lead to 4-2 at the 5:05 mark. Britt Nawrocki scooped up the loose ball after an initial blocked shot and flicked the ball to Lach, who recorded the player-up tally. 
• Tufts scored twice in the final 3:10 to knot the contest at four goals apiece. Margie Carden bounced in a free-position marker before Madeline Delaney muscled her way through the defense and slotted a shot into the lower right with the extra player.
• The teams traded the initial tallies of the second stanza before Jumbos' Zorn and Carden tallied back-to-back free-position markers to give Tufts a 7-5 advantage.
• Middlebury answered with four unanswered goals to close out the half with a 9-7 lead. Motley, Sophia Lee and Kelcey Dion converted free-position markers, before Coughlin scored on a nifty feed from Anna Spehr. 
• The Panthers increased the advantage to 10-7 with a quick-stick extra-player tally from Coughlin at the 11:19 mark of the third.
• Zorn whipped in a free-position to slice the lead to 10-8 less than a minute later.
• Shue secured her hat trick with a free shot from the left side, followed by a laser from the doorstep by Lach to extend the Middlebury advantage to 12-8. 
• The Jumbos halted the scoring spree, causing a turnover and racing end-to-end for a transition goal from Madeline Delaney with 4:18 to go.
• Middlebury jumped back out to a four-goal cushion with 1:41 left on the third-quarter clock as Shue weaved through several defenders and finished from a sharp right angle for the 13-9 lead.
• Kate Mastrobuono drove in from the left side and scored less than a minute into the final frame to cut the deficit to three (13-10). 
• Tufts earned its fourth yellow card of the game, calling for a two-minute non-releasable player-up opportunity for the home squad. Middlebury capitalized,  as Spehr and Dion found nylon for the 15-10 lead.
• The Jumbos responded with four-straight markers. Emma Joyce sparked the run, forcing a turnover and scooping up the loose ball. Joyce cleared the ball and Lesparance scored. Mastrobuono, Carden and Delaney followed, slicing the Middlebury advantage to one (15-14) with 3:54 left.
• A little over a minute later, Caroline Adams gave the Panthers some breathing room, finding the back of the goal while falling to the ground for the 16-14 lead.
• With 25 ticks left on the clock, Carden caught a feed from Joyce and scored from the doorstep to cut the advantage to one (16-15).
• Shue came up big on the ensuing draw, securing the win before running out the clock to earn the 16-15 triumph. 

NOTES

• Shue led all players with eight points (4G, 4A) and a career-high 10 draw controls.
• With one turnover today, Kylie Wilson moves into second place in the record books with 104 in her career. 
• Spehr tallied two points (1G, 1A) to eclipse the 100 career points mark with 101. 
• The programs played for the 31st time with Middlebury claiming its 26th overall and fifth victory in a row.

Middlebury travels to Connecticut next weekend for a 12:00 p.m. start at Trinity on Saturday.