Liz Evans scored twice to lead the St. Lawrence University women's lacrosse team, but the top-ranked Middlebury Panthers powered their way to a 19-3 win over the Saints on Tuesday evening in Canton, N.Y.

Evans tallied two goals for the Saints, while Neve Ley added the third. Morgan Arakelian and Keira Dodd each recorded an assist on the afternoon, while Ley also picked up three ground balls. Bridgette Gable led the Saints defense with two ground balls and three caused turnovers.

The defending national champions made quick work of the first quarter, shutting out the Saints 6-0 after the first 15 minutes of play.

Hope Shue scored her second of the game for the Panthers making it 7-0 to start the second, but about a minute and a half later she was followed by Evans' 14th goal of the season to put the Saints on the board.

Middlebury added the next five to take a 12-1 lead at halftime.

Goals from Britt Nawrocki and Susan Rowley increased the Panthers lead to 14-1 in the third, but a burst of offense from the Saints led to back-to-back goals from Evans and Ley.

The Panthers scored once more to close the third and added four goals in the fourth for the win.



Rowley led the Panthers with four goals and an assist, while Shue and Anna Spehr both scored three goals. Caroline Adams led Middlebury with eight draw control wins.

Courtney Lynn finished with four saves for the Saints, while Gina Driscoll stopped six for Middlebury.

The Panthers finished with a 23-9 advantage in shots on goal and picked up 20 ground balls to the Saints' 15. Middlebury also controlled the draws going 19-5 and capitalized on 5-of-6 free-position shots.

With the loss, the Saints fell to 2-6, while Middlebury remains undefeated at 9-0.

St. Lawrence will host second-ranked William Smith on Friday, April 5 at 4 p.m.