Not so long ago, it was The College of New Jersey that was producing undefeated seasons and Division III national titles seemingly every year.

Things have changed, but not that much.

Both College of New Jersey and Middlebury entered the Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship game May 19 at Rowan with unblemished records, but only Middlebury (18-0) walked away with one.

The Panthers won their second consecutive national title by a 12-6 count over the Lions. The win also was the Panthers' 35th straight.

The title was the fourth overall for Middlebury. The Lions have won 10 -- six with perfect records -- the last coming in 2000.

The Panthers' last loss came in the semifinals of the 2000 tournament.

Middlebury coach Missy Foote, who has coached the Panthers to all four national championships, praised her team's defense.

"We don't allow a lot of goals," she said. "We were able to keep players from going to goal and we did a great job, we blocked shots, blocked passes, we checked the ball as players tried to create lanes, we picked up ground balls and started fast breaks. Our defense was key today."

Still, it was the Lions who started the game with two straight goals, both from Carin Heller, unassisted, with 24:12 and 23:04 left in the first half. Middlebury answered with two goals by Meg Bonney, the latter coming with 17:42 left in the half.

The Panthers went up, 4-2, after Kristin Hanley scored her first goal at 13:09. Julia Bergofsky, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player, took a feed from Hanley 14 seconds later for the fourth goal. Jill Baldwin netted the Lions' last score of the half with 10:52 left, but Nula O'Donohoe (8:46) and Hanley (1:38) gave Middlebury a 6-3 halftime edge.

The Panthers separated themselves with five straight goals to open the second period and never looked back.

"I thought Middlebury was very strong," said College of New Jersey coach Sharon Pfluger. "Once they started clicking with the fast break, it hurt us. We took a lot of shots but our shooting was a little off, which is a credit to their defense and goalkeeper."

Joining Bergofsky (who also made last year's team) on the all-tournament team were teammates Dana Chapin, Hanley, Jan Glessner and defender Ali Connolly. From the Lions, defender Christie Shore, midfielder Megan McCall and Heller made the team. Also named were Mary Washington's Beth Schminke and Pam Kramer, and Amherst's Cara Coscarelli and Brooke Diamond.

Championship summary

First round: Springfield 14, Western New Eng. 7; Cabrini 12, Wooster 11.

Second round: Col. of New Jersey 21, Susquehanna 4; Cortland St. 9, Gettysburg 8; Middlebury 19, Springfield 2; William Smith 20, Rowan 4; Union (N.Y.) 14, Nazareth 9; Amherst 15, Colorado Col. 8; Mary Washington 13, Randolph-Macon 9; St. Mary's (Md.) 15, Cabrini 7.

Quarterfinals: Col of New Jersey 15, Cortland St. 8; Middlebury 16, William Smith 10; Amherst 13, Union (N.Y.) 6; Mary Washington 9, St. Mary's (Md.) 7.

Semifinals

Amherst scoring: Mary Kate Allen 2, Erin Beaumont 2, Laura Shifter 1, Allison Aldrich 1, Liz Martin 1.

Col. of New Jersey scoring: Carin Heller 3, Tara Prindible 2, Liz O'Connor 2, Valerie Cherill 1, Christie Shore 1, Katie Wagenblast 1.

Shots: Amherst 17; Col. of New Jersey 26. Goalkeeper saves: Amherst -- Brooke Diamond 9; Col. of New Jersey -- Gemma Gannone 6, Jen Munday 1.

Mary Washington scoring: Pam Kramer 3, Melissa Black 1, Briana Gerbat 1.

Middlebury scoring: Kristin Hanley 5, Nula O'Donohoe 3, Julia Bergofsky 2, Char Glessner 2, Dalton Cox 2, Beth Seeley 1, Meg Bonney 1.

Shots: Mary Washington 18, Middlebury 35. Goalkeeper saves: Mary Washington -- Tricia Marino 9; Middlebury -- Sarah Grenert 8 , Johanna Rosenfield 2.

Championship

Middlebury scoring: Kristin Hanley 3, Nula O'Donohoe 2, Julia Bergofsky 2, Meg Bonney 2, Katie Simpson 1, Char Glessner 1, Dana Chapin 1.

Col. of New Jersey scoring: Carin Heller 3, Tara Prindible 1, Katie Wagenblast 1, Jill Baldwin 1.

Shots: Middlebury 23, Col. of New Jersey 26. Goalkeeper saves: Middlebury -- Sarah Grenert 7; Col. of New Jersey -- Gemma Gannone 2, Jen Munday 4