Photo by Keith Lucas, Sideline Media, for Middlebury athletics

Middlebury's incredible run of Division III women's lacrosse dominance continued as the Panthers rolled past fifth-ranked Salisbury 16-5 to win the 2024 national title at Kerr Stadium on the campus of Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia.

The win gives the Panthers their third consecutive national title, and continues an incredible run in which Middlebury has won 51 consecutive games. Midd has also won 68 of its past 69 contests, with the sole loss coming on May 8, 2022, in the NESCAC final against Tufts, by a 9-8 score.

Middlebury was barely tested in the entire NCAA Tournament, winning their five games by an average of 11.2 goals. The closest game in the postseason game in a 15-9 win against Franklin & Marshall in the national semifinals.

On Saturday, Salisbury scored the first goal of the game, but the Panthers dominated the rest of the half, taking an 11-3 lead, and cruised the rest of the way to the win.

Middlebury caused six turnovers and scored five consecutive goals to make the score 5-1 at the end of the first. Kelcey Dion got things going with a nifty marker while being double-teamed, Hope Shue tallied twice including one from the eight-meter, and Niki Mormile found nylon with just two seconds left on the clock for the 5-1 Panther lead.

Middlebury carried its momentum into the second quarter, scoring another five in a row to complete the 10-0 run. Caroline Adams got things going with just 46 seconds elapsed after winning the preceding faceoff. The Panther used a dodge-and-weave on a defender before slipping the ball inside the left pipe. Susan Rowley tallied three of the next four goals, including a player-up free-position marker, while Shue completed her hat trick as the duo made it 10-1.

"It's hard to be at this stage in the tournament and play a complete game, and I really thought our offense came out firing, our D was really connecting on their slides and really minimizing the looks, and our draw control team really did well," Middlebury coach Kate Livesay said after the game. "So that first half was just so critical to separate and feel like things were really working on all cylinders. I'm just so proud of the team to show up in a moment like that, and be so good in all phases of the game."

After Kelcey Dion scored to push the margin to nine just 30 seconds into the third, Miranda Mears and Meridith Price combined to craft some Salisbury momentum again. Each of the two scored in a minute's time to slim the margin with 6:22 left in the frame, 12-5. But Adams bounced one into the net with 16 seconds left in the third, and Middlebury forced running time with just under 10 minutes remaining with back-to-back goals from Mormile for the 16-5 advantage.

At the conclusion of the contest, Shue was named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player award, while Adams, Rowley, Shue and Kylie Wilson each earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

It's the 10th national title for Middlebury women's lacrosse in the 39 years the NCAA has held a Division III championship in the sport. New England Small College Athletic Conference rules prevented Middlebury from participating in the NCAA postseason for the first decade of the championship's existence.