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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Field Hockey Displays Attacking Prowess

Middlebury’s fourth-ranked Field Hockey team came out of last weekend with two dynamic wins. Following their 6-2 victory over Colby on Saturday, Oct. 3, the Panthers defeated Rensselaer 6-1 on Sunday, Oct. 4 in a non-conference matchup.


Starting the double header on a beautiful afternoon in Middlebury, Field Hockey took on NESCAC opponent Colby in front of a huge crowd of Panther parents. First-year Molly Freeman ’19 had an impressive offensive showing for the Panthers, recording her first career hat trick. Middlebury was quick to get on the scoreboard, as Freeman tapped in her first goal off a pass from Pam Schulman ’17 just 4:29 into the first half.


Colby responded shortly, sneaking a ball in past Middlebury keeper Emily Miller ’17 to tie the game. Determined to establish Middlebury’s dominance, Freeman netted her second goal of the game just two minutes later. The Mules then responded with another equalizing goal, as Megan Fortier sent a hard shot in from 12 yards out.


The Panthers recovered quickly, putting on a show for their fans with four unanswered goals to take the win. Co-captain Bridget Instrum ’16 started the run in the 29th minute, off a pass from Schulman to put the Panthers up 3-2. Three minutes later, Freeman sent in a pass from Anna Kenyon ’16 to complete her three-goal effort, and give the Panthers a 4-2 lead at half.


“We really got to focus on working together and generating a lot of offense,” Freeman said of Saturday’s win. “There was a lot of high paced energy, but once we got into the rhythm of the game it felt like we had a lot of passing and scoring opportunities.”


Middlebury extended their lead well into the second half, when Susanna Baker ’19 scored her first career goal in the 51st minute. Lauren Schweppe ’18 rounded out the strong, 6-2 offensive effort with her first career goal in the 66th minute.


The Panthers held a 20-6 shot advantage, as well as a 4-2 edge in penalty corners over the Mules. On the defensive end, Miller secured the win with a pair of saves.


Sunday’s 6-1 game against Rensselaer closely resembled the previous day’s effort; Middlebury scored four goals in addition to a hat trick from Annie Leonard ’18.


The Panthers got on the scoreboard first, as Schulman collected a rebound from Grace Jennings ’19 five minutes into the game to score her sixth goal of the season. Building on her performance the previous day, Freeman scored her first of two goals at the 12-minute mark.


Rensselaer’s Jena Nawfel then cut the Engineers’ deficit in half, holding the game at 2-1 for the remainder of the half with her goal in the 25th minute.


Shortly into the second half, Freeman started the four-goal Panther run by tipping in a pass from Jennings to put the Panthers up 3-1. Just over 10 minutes later, Leonard began her attack, scoring three goals during a five-minute span. She put in her first of the game—and fifth of the season—at the 53-minute mark, and then capitalized on a corner pass off of a penalty, from Kenyon and Shannon Hutteman ’16 at 55:50 to put the Panthers up 5-1. Leonard completed her hat trick in the 58th minute, sending a rebound from Baker past the Engineer goalie.


Rensselaer’s best scoring opportunity came in the 67th minute, but Panther goalie Evangeline Dunphy ’18 blocked the shot and picked up her first career victory in her first start for the Panthers. Dunphy totaled four saves in the win, as Middlebury held a 25-5 advantage in shots and a 5-1 edge in penalty corners.


As the Panthers head into the second half of their regular season, Head Coach Katharine DeLorenzo is feeling very confident about the direction of the team.


“This team is fully engaged with one another. The team is led well by very strong groups of veteran seniors and supported unconditionally by the stalwart junior class. Each player is developing quickly, and the team game is coming together because of their commitment to it all,” DeLorenzo said. “We are fit and strong, and we will continue to make our goal to play hard through contact to outlast opponents.”


The Panthers will return to action this weekend, with a double header leading off at Tufts on Saturday, Oct. 10, and at Wesleyan on Sunday, Oct. 11.


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