Courtesy Middlebury Athletic Communications

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury jumped out to a 11-0 lead and never looked back, on its way to a 19-3 win over Ithaca in an NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament first-round game on Kohn Field Wednesday afternoon. The Panthers advance to an NCAA Regional at Hamilton on Saturday, where they will meet Gettysburg at 2:30 p.m. Ithaca ends its season with a 9-8 mark.

Middlebury wasted little time as Reid Berrien scored cutting to the goal with a nice feed from Mimi Schatz just 31 seconds into the game. Dana Heritage scored a pair for the Panthers, followed by Berrien’s second goal at the 25:42 mark. Schatz struck for two of her own to give Middlebury a 6-0 advantage. Three more tallies made it a 9-0 contest, before Heritage scored her third and fourth goals of the half to give the Panthers an 11-0 lead with 11:53 remaining.

Catherine Hurley broke up the scoring run as she put Ithaca on the board with 9:24 left in the first half. Katherine Entwisle scored twice, with a Schatz goal sandwiched in between, to make it a 14-1 game at the intermission.

Middlebury slowed down the pace in the second half, opening with the first five goals over a 17:35 span. The final goal of the run was the first of her career for Alice Demmerle. Ithaca closed the game with a pair of goals, one from Meagan Howell and the second of the game for Hurley to make it a 19-3 final.

Schatz paced the Panthers with four goals and two assists, while Heritage scored four with one helper. Berrien and Entwisle each earned three goals and two assists, while Taylor Brown dished out three assists in the win.

Blair Bowie made six saves in 46 minutes to earn the win for Middlebury in goal, while Emily Brooks made three stops over 52 minutes of play for the Bombers.