Division III Rewind: A Rivalry Game, A Defensive Bout Set for Semifinals

The NCAA Division III women’s lacrosse semifinals are set. Top-ranked Middlebury will play a rivalry game against Tufts, while two strong defenses will square off when Salisbury takes on Wesleyan.

Here’s how each team punched their ticket, as well as some of the other important notes and numbers from the third round and quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

New Jersey Takeover

Middlebury earned a spot in the semifinals for the seventh consecutive year after a pair of victories over New Jersey’s finest, Rowan and TCNJ.

First, the Panthers met Rowan in the third round. It was the first time the two teams ever played each other, and a 9-1 Middlebury run to start the game set the tone. Ten different players scored for Middlebury, including Caroline Adams, who scored five goals and added one assist and seven draw controls. Maeve Lee scored a career-high four goals.

In the quarterfinals, Middlebury took on a more familiar foe in TCNJ. The Panthers raced out to another fast start, this time scoring the first 11 goals of the game. Adams picked up another two goals, three assists, and five draw controls while Skylar Lach scored three goals, the first of which was the 100th of her career.

The Panthers are now 21-0, which is tied with last year’s team for third in program history for most wins in a season. The 2023 and 2024 teams own the record with 23 wins.

Sea gulls Remain Perfect

Salisbury cruised to victories over York and Christopher Newport en route to the program’s third semifinals appearance in the past six years.

York star senior Sydney Mentzer scored in the first minute of the game to give the Spartans the lead, but the Sea Gulls scored the next six goals. York never got closer than three goals for the remainder of the game. In what was a strong team defensive performance, Abby Fleishell caused five turnovers and won five draw controls. Additionally, she earned the first assist and point of her career when she supplied the helper to a goal by Layren Hackett in the second quarter.

That victory led to a third showdown with conference foe Christopher Newport, which topped Denison — a team that set program records for wins (19), goals (344), assists (201), and points (545) — in what was the game of the weekend, an 11-10 victory that went down to the wire.

It was the first time the Captains played in the quarterfinals, but the magic run ended with a decisive 17-4 victory by Salisbury. Regan McDonnell scored the first goal of the game that led to a 6-0 run for Salisbury. She finished the day with three goals, two ground balls, two caused turnovers, and four draw controls. Additionally, Lauren Hackett — who was next in line to score after McDonnell’s opener — had her sixth-straight game with at least four points.

Salisbury is now 34-0 all-time against Christopher Newport, including three wins this season.

All-Around Dominance

Tufts earned two victories behind an offensive barrage and stout defensive efforts.

In the third round against Gettysburg, the Jumbos shut out the Bullets for the entire first half and scored the first 13 goals of the game. Tufts truly erupted in the second quarter with a seven-goal effort. Allie Zorn and Eleanor Helm each had three goals and two assists while Sophia Claps, Nicola Donlan, and Sophie Haas each caused three turnovers.

The semifinals featured the team’s second game against Williams this season. While the margin was slightly smaller than when the two teams met in the regular season, Tufts used another strong second quarter to put away its foe. After the teams traded goals in the first quarter, which ended with the Jumbos up 3-2, Tufts scored the next four goals of the game to take a commanding 7-2 lead.

Williams fought back, cutting the deficit to two in the fourth quarter after a goal from Ainsley Abel, but Tufts scored the final four goals of the game to finish the job. Zorn had another five-point day with two goals and three assists.

Wesleyan Comes From Behind

Wesleyan took care of business as expected in the third round, beating Chicago, 14-7. The Cardinals were up 8-2 at halftime, and when Izzy Weintrub is in net, mounting any type of serious comeback is a huge challenge. The USA Lacrosse First-Team All-American selection made 12 saves, tying a career high. Senior Bridget Horst tallied a career-high seven points on five goals and two assists.

Trinity made Wesleyan a little more uncomfortable in the semifinals. Trinity led 3-2 at the end of the first quarter thanks to two goals from Lily Acerra and 4-3 at halftime.

The Cardinals came out refreshed, however, as they scored the next four goals to take a 7-4 lead they would not relinquish. Midfielder Dylan Green led the Cardinals with five points, including one goal and two assists in the second half.

Best Individual Performance

Eleanor Helm, Tufts

The freshman tied for the team lead in points with three goals and two assists against Gettysburg, but it was her game against Williams that really pops off the page. Helm scored five goals and tallied six assists in the quarterfinal matchup while also picking up two ground balls and causing three turnovers. In two games against the Ephs this season, Helm combined for 10 goals and 11 assists.

Honorable mention: Lindsey Diomede, Wesleyan

The senior USA Lacrosse First-Team All-American continued to make plays on the defensive end, causing four turnovers in the team’s victory over Chicago before causing seven turnovers and picking up three ground balls in the win over Trinity.

BY THE NUMBERS

140

With two goals in the quarterfinals against Middlebury, TCNJ’s Marissa Lucca tied the program’s single-season points record with 140 originally set by Jenny LaRocca in 2022. She finishes her career with 333 points, which is fourth-most in program history.

501

Christopher Newport goalie Hadley Chadwick made two saves against Salisbury in the quarterfinals, giving her 501 for her career. She is only the second player in program history to reach that milestone. Over the course of her career, she played 4,384 minutes, which is the fifth-highest total in Division III history.

6

Salisbury senior Audrey Harrington tallied six points on two goals and four assists in the team’s victory over Christopher Newport. It was the sixth time this season she had six or more points in a game.

96

Williams senior captain Franny Donohue scored three goals in the team’s quarterfinals loss to Tufts, which pushed her into first in program history with 96 points in a single season. She finished her career with 153 goals, third-most in program history.