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Middlebury players congregate during their semifinal victory over Tufts

Middlebury, Wesleyan Advance to NCAA DIII Women's Championship

May 22, 2026
USA Lacrosse Staff
Middlebury Athletics

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It will be an all NESCAC final after Middlebury and Wesleyan pulled off one-goal victories at the NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse semifinals at RIT on Friday afternoon.

Middlebury (22-0), which has won the last four national championships, overcame a furious rally by Tufts, beating the Jumbos 10-9 in overtime. Wesleyan (19-3) used a lockdown defense to edge Salisbury 5-4 and advance to the national championship game for the first time in school history.

The championship game will be the third meeting of the season between Middlebury and Wesleyan. The Panthers won the previous two, nipping the Cardinals 5-4 on April 4 and then again 7-5 in the NESCAC championship game on May 3. Sunday's championship is set for 3 p.m.. (Eastern) and will be streamed live on NCAA.com

Middlebury Captures Overtime Thriller

When the bracket was revealed, one of the immediate takeaways was the potential of a 2025 championship game rematch between Middlebury and Tufts to occur in the semifinals.

The NESCAC rivals seemed to be on a collision course destined towards each other, and when the matchup came to fruition, it was sure to be an instant classic. The Panthers and Jumbos have played each other 11 times since 2019. Even though Tufts only won one of those matchups, seven of them – including the last four – were decided by a single goal.

After Friday afternoon’s contest another one can be added to the ledger after Middlebury beat Tufts, 10-9, in overtime.

“We always know it will be a battle with Tufts,” Middlebury head coach Kate Livesay said. “It’s a game we always look forward to because they force us to be sharp in our play. They did a really nice job of clawing back in that game. We take a lot of pride in how we responded to that.”

For most of the first half, it didn’t seem like the game would be all that close.

Middlebury shut out Tufts in the first quarter, scored the first five goals of the game, and jumped out to an 8-1 lead with 4:30 remaining in the half, a run that culminated with a goal from Haley Hamilton, the seventh different Panther to score. Even after Allie Zorn and Elsa Schutt scored for Tufts to end the half – Schutt’s coming with two seconds remaining – the Jumbos still trailed by five going into the break.

For as lopsided as the first half was in favor of Middlebury, however, Tufts dominated the second half. The Jumbos outscored the Panthers 4-1 in the third quarter and shutout Middlebury in the fourth quarter.

Tufts subbed junior goalie Sophie Powless in for starter Devon Chipman after Hamilton’s goal in the first half, and she held Middlebury at bay, specifically in the fourth quarter.

Powless made three saves in the fourth quarter, including a key stop on a shot from Maddie Ackerman. As Middlebury moved the ball attempting to kill some clock, Ackerman was left open on the far-side and received a cross-field pass with an open lane on the lefty wing, but the high-shot was snagged by Powless.

“This has been her day,” commentator Monika Moore said on the game broadcast. “Out of that timeout, she skipped out onto the field. You see so much joy. You don’t see anxiety. You don’t see fear. You can’t have that from a goalkeeper, but I loved her presence and her energy as she came out onto the field. That is a clutch play for Tufts.”

Tufts successfully cleared the ball and called a timeout. After moving the ball around, Sophia Claps had a good look at cage from the righty wing, but her shot went high. The Jumbos recovered, and moved the ball on the restart, getting it to Zorn at the top of the arc. With under eight seconds remaining, Tufts completed a three-pass sequence as Schuyler Lloyd, on the right side of goal-line extended, found Claps across the field on the left side of the crease for the equalizer with three seconds remaining.

“It was a tale of two halves,” Livesay said. “We got off to a really good start and controlled things in the first and second quarter. We started to lose our footing a little bit at the half. Credit to Tufts, they came out and really challenged our defense and created some extra opportunities.”

When the two teams met in the regular season, Middlebury trailed Tufts 7-4 in the third quarter before scoring seven of the next 10 goals to win the game, 11-10. Senior and captain Caroline Adams said the key to that comeback was staying the course and continuing to do the little things.

That mindset proved valuable again in the semifinals.

Middlebury was awarded possession off the draw to start overtime, and the Panthers went player-up at the 4:34 mark when Eleanor Helm – who had two goals and an assist on the day – was given a green card.

The Panthers offense moved the ball around for the next 30 seconds, looking for the hole in the defense and the extra space when Siobhan Colin, on the lefty wing, saw Adams top right and sent a cross-field skip pass her way. Adams cut to the goal, dodged past the sliding Tufts defender, and finished the shot from the inside to score the game-winning goal.

“When it comes down to the last second, you just keep doing the very same thing you’ve been doing all game,” Adams said. “We were on the man-up, and we kept doing what we’ve done all season, moving the ball around, and things opened up.”

Middlebury will attempt to win its fifth national championship in a row on Sunday at 3 p.m. against Wesleyan. Until then, Livesay is proud of the effort her team put together in the semifinals.

“I was happy with the poise and patience that our offense showed, even when we weren’t connecting and scoring,” Livesay said. “We were still using some clock, which was really important at that point in the game to give our defense a little bit of a rest. Overall, just happy with the commitment of our team to stay in it and trust each other.”

– Phil Shore

Wesleyan Makes History, Reaches NCAA Final

For the second straight year and the third time in five years, the NCAA Division III championship game will be an all-NESCAC affair.

No. 2 ranked Wesleyan (19-3) held off No. 3 Salisbury (20-1) in the second semifinal game Friday and now advances to its first ever championship game.

The battle between the two nationally ranked defenses played out as expected, with both offenses struggling throughout the contest to create good scoring opportunities. And in the infrequent instances when they were able to break down the defense, both goalies rose to the occasion with timely saves.

“We knew we were going to have a battle today and we made it a defensive battle, as we love to do,” said Wesleyan head coach Kim Williams.

All indications from the earliest minutes of the game pointed to the type of tightly contested matchup that unfolded. It took almost seven minutes before either team was able to find the back of the net, with Wesleyan drawing first blood at 8:24 on an unassisted goal by Kyra Browne.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ defense forced Salisbury into turnovers on each of its first five possessions. It took the Sea Gulls nearly 13 minutes to record their first shot on goal, but Mackenzie Demaio’s goal on an assist from Regan McDonnell in the final minute knotted the score at 1-1 at the end of the quarter.

By comparison to the first quarter, the next 15 minutes featured an offensive explosion, as the teams combined for four second period goals. But each time Wesleyan grabbed the lead, Salisbury answered. The teams went into halftime with the score knotted at 3-3.

The difference in the game proved to be the third quarter, with Wesleyan getting back-to-back free position goals from midfielder Dylan Green to establish the first two-goal advantage of the game. Salisbury cut the deficit back to one with 2:33 left in the third quarter, but that was the last goal either team would score.

“We tried to stick to our game plan because we had some good looks, so there was no reason to change what we were doing,” said Salisbury coach Jim Nestor. “We just wanted to keep the ball moving and try to find something on the backside. We kept reminding the girls to keep their composure because there was still time to tie the game.”

The Sea Gulls had six shots to tie the game in the final period – including two shots in the final 45 seconds – but all the attempts either sailed wide or ended up on the stick of Wesleyan’s All-America goalie Izzy Weinstein, who finished with nine saves.

“I can’t be successful without everyone who plays in front of me,” Weinstein said. “I really can’t do anything without all of them. I try to lead from the back as the goalie.”

Williams noted that the game plan is built around knowing that Weinstein serves as the anchor. The Cardinals’ backer zone, led by rover Lilly Stoller, took away many of Salisbury’s passing lanes and held Salisbury to its lowest offensive output of the season.

“Izzy is incredible, and we can do what we do defensively, in terms of pressure and taking risks, because there is so much trust with her behind us,” Williams said.

The Cardinals rank in the top ten nationally in scoring defense and have allowed a total of 19 goals in their four NCAA Tournament victories this season. They have held 20 of their 22 opponents to single digits in scoring this season.

“We are used to being battle tested every single week,” Williams said. “We are used to making it a scrappy game. We love the gritty games.”

In the end, Wesleyan’s offense did just enough, with junior midfielder Green scoring a game-high three goals to help the Cardinals advance.

After losing to Middlebury twice earlier this season, Wesleyan is excited for another shot at the Panthers in hopes of securing the program’s first national championship.

“We’re all so excited because we’ve been dreaming about this moment since our freshman year,” said senior Dylan Green. “We came here to win and we’re ready to go.”

— Paul Ohanian

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