Field Hockey Wins Second Consecutive NESCAC Title

Middlebury triumphed over Bowdoin on Sunday, Nov. 10 by a final score of 5-4 to win the NESCAC final in dramatic double-come-from-behind fashion. Bridget Instrum ’16 scored all four regulation-time goals and Alyssa DiMaio ’15 landed the title-winning punch in overtime. The Panthers knocked off Amherst a day earlier by way of one decisive goal from Pam Shulman ’17 to reach the title game.  Middlebury will host the Regional round of the NCAA tournament this weekend, needing just two wins to secure a trip to the Final Four.

Amherst rode a 13-game win streak into the semifinal game on its unique home turf, but Hana Kahn ’14 and the team were confident nonetheless.

“We knew that we were meant to win that game—and we had the capability to do so if we played up to our ability,” Kahn said.

Pam Shulman ’17 shoveled home the game-winner with just 11 minutes remaining on an elevated pass from Catherine Fowler ’15 that found her crashing on the doorstep.  On the defensive end, Meredith Rowe ’14 performed emergency goalie duty on a key defensive save while Emily Knapp ’15 kicked away two balls to keep the Lord Jeffs scoreless.

“We were really happy with how we played against Amherst, so against Bowdoin we just said ‘Let’s go out and do the same,’” Fowler said.

Bowdoin flicked in two quick goals in the first six minutes of the game but did nothing to dampen the stormproof confidence of the Middlebury squad.

Instead, the team collectively buckled down during the ensuing timeout called by head coach Katharine DeLorenzo.

“We weren’t rattled by it,” said captain Ellie O’Brien. “It was a cool experience because no one was down at all.”

In the 16th minute of play the Panthers surged on a quick transition and Katherine Theiss ’14 hounded over the Bowdoin goalie before a rebound bounced toward Instrum for the goal.

Middlebury spent the next ten minutes pounding the ball into Bowdoin’s defensive circle, and finally on the seventh entry the ball nipped a Bowdoin foot to win a corner for Middlebury.  O’Brien and Instrum connected three quick passes in tight space along the end line to shake two Bowdoin defenders before Instrum slammed in a clean goal to tie the game at 2-2.

Back on level footing, the teams tussled without a goal until two minutes before halftime when a long hit from Bowdoin star Katie Riley rattled around in front and trickled over the line for a goal.

To make matters worse, Bowdoin earned a penalty stroke shortly after halftime on a play where Middlebury goalie Emily Knapp ’16 slid aggressively to stop a Polar Bear rush, but ended up smothering the ball illegally.  Bowdoin converted the stroke, pushing Middlebury into another two-goal deficit.
With 10:31 left in the game, a miscue by the referee team prompted over 10 minutes of hushed bickering and deliberation.  During the break, something strange happened — still trailing by two goals, the Middlebury players started to dance while the Bowdoin players stood like tombstones.

“On the field we kept it a little bit more contained, but everyone on the bench was really going for it,” said O’Brien.

“Rock This Party by Bob Sinclair,” said Kahn, smiling. “It’s a song we’ve always used to get pumped up for every game.  We were down by two but cheering like we were up five.”

Right off the whistle O’Brien inserted the ball again to Instrum, but this time Instrum faked the return pass and drilled a reverse backhander just inside the near post to make the score 4-3 Bowdoin.

The sidelines were still bouncing in rhythm two minutes later when Lauren Berestecky ’16 slung a waist high shot at cage and the rebound hovered juicily for Instrum to smack upward into the net, tying the game at four.

“We could not have done it without the sidelines pumping us up,” said Instrum, whose four scores tied the NESCAC Championship record and earned her Player of the Week honors.

Two minutes into overtime, Alyssa DiMaio spun her way into the offensive arc to earn a corner chance, and atop the box Fowler and O’Brien shared a moment of understanding, drawing up the game’s conclusive play. Sure enough, the Bowdoin defense collapsed on Fowler as she drove to the net and DiMaio wrote the final note of an unforgettable comeback with a diving poke past the Bowdoin goalie, summoning a raucous dog pile of teammates celebrating their second consecutive NESCAC title.

Middlebury hosts the Regional Round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday, Nov. 16 and Sunday, Nov. 17.