Field Hockey Rattles the Cage, Outscores Trinity, Hamilton 9-1

The Panthers scored and roared above their weekend opponents, scolding Trinity 5-0 on Saturday, Oct. 12 and topping Hamilton 4-1 on Sunday, Oct. 13.  Anna Kenyon ’16 and Bridget Instrum ’16 lifted the team chemistry and speed of play, and deceptive playmaker Alyssa DiMaio ’15 found a well-deserved scoring touch.  The seniors delivered memorable performances on both days to kiss the spongy Kohn field goodbye.

Middlebury orchestrated its most professional and overpowering game of the year against Trinity to please a large crowd of proud parents in the bleachers.  On the first corner of the game, Catherine Fowler ’15 used Ellie O’Brien ’14 like a wall to shed a defender before finding some open net.

The Panthers took 11 hits on the Trinity goal in the first half while Meredith Rowe ’14 and Anna Kenyon ’15 infuriated the Trinity offense by allowing not a single shot.

“Meredith is such a brick wall in the back,” DiMaio said. “Everyone is so confident in her and she really can’t get enough credit for what she does.”

Kenyon especially glued the defensive door shut with her vocal leadership from the sweeper position much to the appreciation of her teammates.

Katherine Theiss ’14 shook the tree trunk early in the second half and goals fluttered into the Trinity cage.  Theiss seized the shin-high rebound and shot quickly to beat the goalie. Next, Fowler drove right and cranked a shot that Hannah Deoul ’14 tipped perfectly through traffic for another energizing goal. Nine minutes later, Bridget Instrum ’16 tapped in a lateral pass across the goal line from O’Brien to make it 4-0.  Later on, Kenyon earned a penalty stroke which NESCAC-leading-scorer Fowler coolly slotted.

Middlebury rolled its momentum forward over Hamilton on Sunday, scoring four goals and allowing only one goal with five minutes left in the game. Coach Katharine DeLorenzo honored all of the seniors with a starting position in their last home game, including an emotionally lifting start for Hana Kahn ‘14, who hobbled on and off the field with a broken femur.

Early in the first half, Theiss converted on her second of two quick baseball swing hacks in front of the goal, setting the tone for another exciting, high-scoring affair.

Fulfilling a pregame prophecy of teammate Kenyon, DiMaio clapped in the game’s next two goals, hiding near the goal post to nimbly redirect two blurrily fast shots coming from the outside, bringing Middlebury ahead quickly to 3-0.

“Coach DeLorenzo had me practice tipping all week, making sure I kept my stick on the ground,” DiMaio said. “In the game, I sort of just closed my eyes and got lucky.”

Fowler iced the cake for the second consecutive game, scoring the fourth goal on yet another designed corner play, one that smartly advantages from her laser-fast shot.

The players offered several different explanations for their improved play over the weekend, pointing to their coaches and team leaders as the primary fuel.

“It feels like we are clicking now,” Olivia Jurkowitz ’17 said. “For a while Coach DeLorenzo played with a lot of different formations, but she seems to have found something now that really works.”

During the week, the Panthers repeated the mantra “As One” to imagine playing together like individual body parts under a single brain.  The mantra and all-week competitive attitude trickle down from captains O’Brien and Deidre Miller ’14.

“The captains are a big part of the focus,” DiMaio said. “At practice, we’re at practice and can’t be anywhere else.”

Kenyon voiced her satisfaction with the game result of the week’s efforts in practice.

“We are working the ball in-and-out, making the small diagonal passes, and looking for the 2-on-1’s now rather than just taking big hits forward,” she said.

All forecasts looking strong, Middlebury looks to build its hurricane momentum over the weekend with its two final regular season games Saturday, Oct. 19 at Bates and Sunday, Oct. 20 at Wesleyan.