NCAA CHAMPIONs
Middlebury Is Back
Nobody ever really leaves Middlebury. Even the NCAA championship got homesick. Middlebury claimed its sixth Division III women’s crown and first since 2004 with a 9-5 win over rival Trinity on May 29 in Chester, Pa. Only TCNJ (12) has won more titles.
The Panthers relied on a group that, like the trophy, spent a large chunk of the early 2000s in a town nestled at the foothills of Vermont’s Green Mountains. First there was Kate Livesay, the coach who grew up in Middlebury and won two NCAA titles as a Panthers defender. After high school, she spent a year at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts before returning to play for her hometown college. Livesay coached Trinity for eight seasons, before returning home last year in legendary coach Missy Foote’s final season.
Chrissy Ritter grew up in Middlebury, too. Her sister, Katie, played for the Panthers. Her dad, Bob, is the football coach. “Watching these girls play when
I was 6 or 7 years old, it was like, ‘Wow, I really want to be a part of that,’” Ritter said. “Then I got to watch my older sister play and it was like, ‘Wow, now I know I want to be a part of that.’”
Few were more instrumental in bringing the title back to Middlebury than goalie Katie Mandigo. She’s from Cornwall, the town next door. Her dad, Doug, coaches the ice hockey team for which Mandigo played. “I’m so happy I can bring home this trophy for my dad, my family, for the whole Middlebury community,” Mandigo said.
It wasn’t weird when
Livesay, who had spent much of the previous decade consistently coaching Trinity to wins over Middlebury, came home. Even if she didn’t really know the players beyond box scores, she knew them. Everybody knows everybody in Middlebury. Of course, since no one ever really leaves, Foote is still around too. The daughter of a military man, Foote moved around a lot as a child and finally found a home in Middlebury. She was in the crowd at Talen Energy Stadium, cheering louder than anyone.
“In some years, I think the team had felt a little heavy with the tradition of winning and it kept them from succeeding,” Livesay said after the game. “We tried not to focus too much on tradition, but we leaned on that this weekend.” It was then brought up that Livesay was the first women’s coach at any level to win NCAA titles with two different teams. Ritter put her arm around her coach, and the two Middlebury natives shared a moment. This time was different. This time they were bringing the title home.
— M.M. Was it a Goal? The most
riveting finish of the NCAA tournament stirred up some controversy when Florida believed it had defeated Penn State on a Sydney Pirreca goal with 11 seconds remaining in regulation of the Gators’ eventual 14-13 overtime loss in a second-
28 LACROSSE MAGAZINE » July/AUGUST 2016
round clash in Gainesville. Nittany Lions goalie Emi Smith got a piece of Pirreca’s shot with her left foot, and the ball landed behind her on the goal line. According to officials, Smith swept the ball off the line with her hand before it fully crossed.
Though video evidence and eyewitnesses
confirmed the call, it led to some dialogue about implementing instant replay. Both Florida coach Mandee O’Leary and Penn State coach Missy Doherty said it is worth examining.
— M.S. A Publication of US Lacrosse
Middlebury coach Kate Livesay hugs Trinity’s Ashley Stewart. Livesay is the first coach to lead two schools to NCAA women’s lacrosse titles.
By the Numbers 9
Encounters between Maryland’s Taylor Cummings and Syracuse’s Kayla Treanor over the course of their legendary careers, all won by Cummings’ Terps.
217
Draw controls reeled in this season by Syracuse’s Kayla Treanor, a new NCAA Division I single-season record. She set the mark on the last draw of a 19-9 loss to Maryland in the semifinals.
21
Years between conference championships for Old Dominion, which made its first NCAA tournament appearance as the Atlantic Sun representative.
V
V
©RICH BARNES
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68