MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Division III No. 4-ranked Washington University in St. Louis received 10 goals from Lauren Treiman (Gr., Salt Lake City, Utah/West) to upend host/North Atlantic Division institution/Division III No. 3 Middlebury College, 13-7, in the Panthers’ second semifinal game of the day and reach the 2022 Women’s Division III Collegiate Club Championship tilte game at the Middlebury Natatorium.
A Midwest Division team, Washington will return to the pool at 10:15 am. on Sunday, May 1, to face Division III No. 1/Sierra Pacific Division representative the University of California-Santa Cruz. UC-Santa Cruz defeated Middlebury by an 18-2 score in the first semifinal in the five-team championship bracket. In a five-team bracket, the runner-up in Bracket “A” (Middlebury) faces the victor of the single Bracket “B” game (Washington) to decide which team earns a championship match-up against the victor of Bracket “A” (UC-Santa Cruz).
Washington returns to the title tilt by downing the team which prevented the Bears from taking the inaugural/2019 Women’s Division III Championship at Villanova University – Middlebury. The Panthers hibernated the Bears’ title hopes on April 28, 2019, by topping Washington University by a 14-11 score in the first-ever women’s Division III Club Championship’s title game hosted by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) league office at Villanova’s Pavilion Pool in Villanova, Pa.
Three years and a pandemic later, the Bears led from close to the opening sprint to the closing horn against the Panthers as Washington outscored Middlebury 2-1 and 5-2 in the first and second quarters to gain a 7-3 lead by halftime. Following a 3-2 scoring advantage by the home team in the third quarter to close within 9-6 heading into the fourth quarter, the Bears put the game away with a 4-1 outburst over the final seven minutes to punch the program’s to a date with the top-ranked Banana Slugs for the National Championship.
Treiman put Washington ahead 44 seconds into the game by whipping in a shot at the 6:16 mark. Sarah Mines (So., Austin, Texas) evened the damage at one-all with 3:30 left in the opening frame by cashing in a man-up opportunity, but Callie Muhlner (So., Menlo Park, Calif./Menlo Atherton) responded at the 1:20 mark to put the Bears ahead to stay at 2-1.
Treiman struck again 49 seconds into the second quarter (6:11) to expand the lead to 3-1 prior to depositing a six-on-five chance at 4:32 to make it 4-1.
Middlebury delivered a counterpoint at 3:48 via a scoring volley by Estelle Martin (Jr., Palo Alto, Calif.) to close within 4-2, but Treiman torched the Panthers with back-to-back scoring blasts at 1:09 and 17 seconds to enlarge the lead to 6-2.
The final two seconds of the half were dramatic as Mines put away a shot with 1.42 seconds on the clock and Treiman answered at the buzzer as the teams exchanged last second goals to allow Washington to carry a 7-3 lead into intermission.
Middlebury trimmed Washington’s lead to three at 7-4 24 seconds into the third quarter as Mines found gold on a six-on-five bid at 6:36, but Treiman responded at 6:07 to return the lead to four at 8-4.
Mines struck again at 4:10 to again move the Panthers within 8-5, but Treiman delivered another response to her feline rival at 1:34 to set the scoreboard at 9-5 in favor of the Bears.
The back-and-forth between Mines and Treiman in the third quarter culminated at 1:12 as Mines flushed another man-up strike to once more move the Panthers to within three at 9-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
Both teams were unable to add to their point total in the first half of the final seven minutes until Washington delivered a flurry of four goals by Ashley Park (So., Orange County, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) (3:36), Josie Alexander (Sr., New York, N.Y./Horace Mann) (3:01) and Treiman (2:26, man-up; 1:32) to push the margin to 13-6 with 92 seconds left in regulation.
Martin capped off the contest for Middlebury by lining in a man-up opportunity with 1:13 remaining for the 13-7 final score.
Middlebury – which will compete its season at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 1, at 11:30 a.m. in the Third Place game against the winner of a game pitting Division III No. 6 Hamilton College versus Carleton College – received five goals from Mines and a pair by Martin.
Sophia Immorlica (So., Cold Spring, N.Y.) started the game in cage for the Panthers with Adelaide Mahler (Jr., Sarasota, Fla.) playing all but one minute with 12 saves.
For Middlebury – which will seek to add a Third Place plaque to its 2019 National Championship award – a Third Place game match-up versus Carleton will mark the second meeting of the weekend between the two institutions as the Panthers claimed a 16-7 win earlier today in Bracket “A” competition.
On the other end of the tank, Treiman accounted for nearly 77 percent of the Bears’ offense against Middlebury with 10 of Washington’s goals coming from her hand. Park, Muhlner and Alexander each tacked on solo markers as the Bears’ will aim to also earn their second Division III Collegiate Club Championship plaque by adding a First Place honor to the institution’s prior runner-up award.
In cage, Milli Boker (Sr., St. Louis, Mo./Clayton) made four saves with three goals allowed in the first half prior to Camile Devaney (Fr., Miami, Fla./Ransom Everglades) swatting aside five scoring chances with six goals allowed in the second half.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Division III No. 4 Washington University in St. Louis |
2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | – | 13 |
| Division III No. 3 Middlebury College | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | 7 |
| Middlebury Goals: | Sarah Mines (5); Estelle Martin (2) | |||||
| Washington Goals: | Lauren Treiman (10); Ashley Park; Callie Muhlner; Josie Alexander | |||||
| Saves: | Middlebury – Sophia Immorlica (0, 1 minute), Adelaide Mahler (12, 27 minutes); Washington – Milli Boker (4, 14 minutes), Camile Devaney (5, 14 minutes) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Middlebury – 6 ; Washington – 7 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Middlebury – 4-for-7 ; Washington – 2-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Middlebury – 4-for-4 ; Washington – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Steve Sargalski; Geoff Deasey | |||||
Washington University in St. Louis’ Lailey Khatibloo (#4) lines up a shot as Middlebury College’s Estelle Martin (#10) defends
Middlebury College’s Jac Blinoff loks to shoot over a wall of Washington University in St. Louis defenders
Washington University in St. Louis’ Camile Devaney (#1A)
