Women’s Soccer

Women’s soccer is hoping to feed off the momentum of a whirlwind 2018 season and come into this season at the top of their game. The Panthers rounded out last season with a NESCAC title and NCAA Final appearance -- becoming the first team ever to do so in Middlebury women’s soccer history.

Despite coming off of a historic run, Head Coach Peter Kim is hoping to channel all of the team’s energy into moving forward, and acknowledges that the new year brings a blank slate.

“The team understands that this is a brand new season, and is extremely motivated to make it a successful season,” said Kim. “We’re all looking forward to the season ahead, and not thinking about last year’s success.”

With the majority of the squad returning and fresh faces bringing a crucial depth to the team, focusing on the present shouldn’t be too difficult for these Panthers. 

“Last year we had over 10 different goal scorers and a big squad so our depth is definitely our biggest strength. We have great team chemistry too,” said Captain Fran Magruder ’20. “Preseason has been very successful, and we’ve developed a very positive team culture with the help of our awesome first year class.”

There is no question that the Panthers are hungry. They plan to take each game just as seriously as the next. 

“We want to improve every game and never let up. Ideally that includes winning out of conference games and Nescac games too. But we keep our eyes fixed firmly on one game at a time,” said Magruder.

So far, it seems Middlebury intends to keep that promise. The team kicked off the season this past week with three consecutive wins, including one against Wesleyan, a conference opponent. The Panthers will get back to business when they play Plattsburgh on the road on Wednesday, Sept. 11.