Cate Rathnam recorded her third multi-point game this season, as the St. Lawrence University women's lacrosse team fell to top-ranked Middlebury 19-7 on Sunday afternoon in Vermont.

Rathnam led the Saints with a hat trick, while Lily Stanton tallied two points on a goal and an assist. Tallis Tarbell, Phoebe Spaeth and Jolie Osborne all scored once. Keira Dodd recorded three draw control wins, while Winnie Downs led the defense with two ground balls and a caused turnover.

Rathnam and Stanton scored for the Saints in the opening quarter, but the Panthers were able to get a hot start outscoring the Scarlet and Brown 7-2 in the opening frame.

Middlebury doubled their advantage in the second, as they shut out the Saints 7-0 in the second to take a 14-2 lead at halftime.

St. Lawrence found two more goals in the third quarter off the sticks of Rathnam and Osborne and picked up five goals in the second half, but their late rally fell short and Middlebury was able to finish off with a 19-7 win.

"They are a tough team and got the better of us for a stretch," said head coach Tom Ryan. "Middlebury has an impressive offense that really test your system. We made some adjustments at half and battled hard in the second half. We had some awesome moments that we will build upon."

Haley Hamilton led the Panthers with six goals on the afternoon.

Zoe Froimovitz made four saves for the Saints, while Grace Smith made two and Annie Spring made one for Middlebury.

The Panthers finished with an 18-7 advantage in shots on goal, while the Saints picked up 11 ground balls to Middlebury's nine.

St. Lawrence moved to 2-2 on the season, while No. 1 Middlebury remains undefeated at 4-0.

The Saints are back on the road next weekend, as they open Liberty League play at Rochester on Saturday, March 13 and face Nazareth on Sunday, March 15.