MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The ninth-ranked Middlebury women's lacrosse team scored the opening six goals of the first half and initial five tallies of the second stanza on its way to a 16-4 non-conference victory Wednesday over Rensselaer (1-2) on a sunny and mild Kohn Field. The Panthers (2-1) will return to action on Saturday when they get back into NESCAC with a noon start at Wesleyan, while the Engineers host Babson on the same day (12pm).

The Panthers recorded the game's opening six goals, as Chrissy Ritter put the hosts on the scoreboard at 27:52 when she cut down the center of the Engineer defense and bounced a shot between the legs of goalie Erin Amarello. A little under a minute later, Laurel Pascal scored from five yards out on a quick-stick shot via a pass from Katie Ritter. Unassisted goals from C. Ritter and K. Ritter along with tallies from Alli Sciarretta and Bridget Instrum gave Middlebury a sizable six-goal advantage with 8:54 remaining.
         
The Panther defense held the Engineers scoreless until 8:33 left in the opening half, as Meg Colitz bounced a shot that Middlebury goalie Madeleine Kinker got a piece but was unable to keep it from crossing the line.
         
Instrum scored Middlebury's seventh goal at the 7:13 mark, receiving a nifty pass from Pascal after she won the draw control and raced up the field. Colitz tallied her second goal of the game on a free-position shot with 3:53 left to cut the Middlebury lead to 7-2, but goals by Pascal at 2:36 and Sciarretta with six seconds left in the half sent the Panthers to the break with a 9-2 edge. Hollis Perticone picked up the assist in each of the goals.

Sciarretta picked up right where she left off, scoring with 23:39 left in the second half. A pair of goals 13 seconds apart by Kate Hodgson gave the Panthers a 10-goal advantage, as Pascal made it 13-2 with 15:56 left.

Colitz netted her second free-position shot of the game at 11:43, but three-straight scores from K. Ritter, Bea Eppler and Liesel Robbins pushed the Panther advantage to 16-3. Rensselaer's Erin Riley capped the scoring with a shot from the right that snuck past Kinker.

Pascal and Sciarretta each scored three goals in the win, while K. Ritter, Instrum, Hodgson and C. Ritter scored twice. Hailey Cosseboom, Pascal and Perticone each tallied a pair of assists, while Pascal led the Panthers with four draw controls. Kinker earned the win with seven saves.

Colitz finished with three goals, while Riley ended with a team-best four draw controls.  Amarello took the loss allowing nine goals with three saves in the first half, while Heather MacLauchlan made four saves and allowed seven goals in the second.