NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College women's lacrosse team dropped its NESCAC opener to No. 1 Middlebury by a 16-5 score on Saturday afternoon at Silfen Field.

The game was competitive at the start. After Susan Rowley opened up the scoring by converting a free position shot 45 seconds into the game and Emily Barnard doubled the margin with the Panthers playing up less than a minute later, the Camels responded with two goals of their own to tie things up. Senior Clara Bisson (Sudbury, Mass.) found freshman Emily Yorns (Longmeadow, Mass.) in transition on a breakaway opportunity and then finished a pass from sophomore Kelly Wolin (Sudbury, Mass.).

Middlebury, however, responded with six unanswered goals in a span of less than six minutes to take over the game. Jane Earley broke the tie with an unassisted marker at 22:22, and the Panthers would score four man-up goals in the half as a result of four yellow cards given out to three Camel players.

The Panthers, who led 13-3 at recess, completed an 8-0 run when Earley teamed up to find Grace Getman for the team's fifth goal while playing up to make it 16-3 with 8:53 remaining in regulation. Junior Hannah Lombard (Ipswich, Mass.) and classmate Mazey Loomis (Hamilton, Mass.) netted unassisted markers down the stretch, but the two big scoring runs by the visitors would prove to be too much to overcome.

Barnard and Earley led Middlebury (2-0, NESCAC 2-0) by tallying seven points apiece. Barnard finished with three goals and four assists, while Earley contributed four markers and three helpers. White paced the defense with four caused turnovers and three ground balls, and Erin Nicholas won a game-high seven draw controls. Julia Keith made four saves in 50 minutes of action to pick up the win for the Panthers, who caused 19 turnovers and had a 16-7 advantage in draw controls.

Bisson paced Connecticut College (2-1, NESCAC 0-1) offensively by registering a goal and two assists. She also caused two turnovers, picked up two ground balls, and won two draws. Loomis found the back of the net twice on three shot attempts, and Ellie Smith matched a game high with four ground balls. Junior netminder Nina Fazio (East Longmeadow, Mass.) stopped eight shots.

Connecticut College will next head to Virginia Beach to face the United States Merchant Marine Academy for a neutral site game on Wednesday, March 11 at noon.