Second-Ranked Field Hockey Team Outscores Trio of Opponents 22-0

The second-ranked Middlebury field hockey team pushed their record to an unblemished 11-0 with three wins in the span of four days, outscoring their opponets 22-0. The Panthers began by blanking visiting Hamilton 8-0 on Saturday, Oct. 6 before going on the road to Connecticut College and emerging with a 5-0 victory on Sunday. Tuesday, Oct. 9 the team finished a special week with a 9-0 decimation of Keene State in Keene, N.H.

Lauren Greer ’13 opened the scoring for the Panthers against Hamilton in a rain-soaked contest, converting a penalty corner off of an insert from Alyssa Dimaio ’15. Greer added another tally minutes later on a penalty stroke to push the lead to two. Katherine Theiss ’14 got on the board for the Panthers 20 minutes in, converting a feed from Charlotte Gardiner ’13 before Greer added another to stretch the lead to 4-0 less than 25 minutes into the half. Middlebury continued to rain shots on the Hamilton keeper for the remaining 10 minutes, as Greer and Theiss each added another goal to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead going into the half.

In the second half, Gardiner hit a crossing pass from the right wing that found Theiss, who made an acrobatic diving finish for her third goal of the game.

“Charlotte’s pass to me on the far post is a play that we work on a lot,” said Theiss. “I was able to dive for it before it got to me because I knew it was coming.”

A career-best fifth goal from Greer two minutes later, her 20th of the season, capped the Panthers 8-0 victory.

“Greer’s offensive ability is crucial to our team’s offensive success,” said Theiss. “She generates a lot of great offensive plays and is really easy to work with on the field. Every team we play tries to shut her down by face-guarding or double-teaming her, but they rarely succeed.”

The Panthers returned to action the following day, Oct. 7, against conference opponent Connecticut College, with Anna Kenyon ’16 recording an early goal off an assist from Cat Fowler ’15 to get Middlebury on the board. Fowler added a goal of her own for a 2-0 halftime advantage, before Theiss, Kenyon, and Erin Petry ’16 each added second-half goals to give the Panthers the 5-0 victory.

Middlebury did not allow either NESCAC opponent to record a shot over the weekend, as they racked up a 56-0 shooting margin while also holding a 26-1 advantage in penalty corners. Madeline Brooks ’13 and Emily Knapp ’15 each saw time in goal for the Panthers, though neither saw any action en route to the two shutout wins.

Middlebury finally allowed a pair of shots — one on goal, no less — in the game at Keene State. It took 18 minutes for Middlebury to get on the board, with Kenyon finally beating the Owls keeper to give the visitors the lead. The Panthers would add four more first-half goals en route to the 9-0 victory. Fowler led Middlebury with two goals and four assists on the night. Kenyon and Greer each added two goals as well, while Theiss contributed a goal and an assist.

At 11-0 overall and 7-0 within the NESCAC, Middlebury currently sits atop the conference standings while trailing only Salisbury (Md.) in the national poll.

The Panthers resume NESCAC play at second-place Trinity this Saturday, Oct.  13.