Panthers earn at-large bid to NCAA tourney

Author: Ryan W. Reese

After eight straight wins, the women's field hockey team finally ran into a roadblock. The Panthers were stopped short of a NESCAC title this past weekend after cruising through the second half of the season unbeaten. On Saturday afternoon, Williams moved on to the championship game by posting a 1-0 overtime win. Although the loss was disappointing, there is still field hockey left to play for this Panther team as they won an at-large bid in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. With the NESCAC trophy resting in the hands of a dominating Bowdoin team, there is no doubt that Middlebury will settle for nothing short of the national crown.

As the hard nosed Polar Bears played host to this fall's NESCAC tournament, Middlebury made its way north for the weekend, hoping to take a stab at knocking off the top-seeded Bowdoin squad. As it turned out, a stingy and impressive Williams team played spoiler and sent the Panthers home early. In a contest that was notably tight throughout regulation, there was little doubt that it would take something special to end the stalemate.

Both sides had a handful of clear opportunities that were repelled with equally impressive defense. Middlebury held the advantage at the half by accumulating eight penalty corner opportunities as opposed to Williams' three but the Panthers were unable to convert and the score remained deadlocked at zeroes.

Meghan McGillen '07 turned back 10 solid Eph attempts on goal while her counterpart Emily Wasserman of Williams held onto the shutout through a barrage of 13 shots on goal. A handful of these saves were highlight reel material in which Wasserman went to acrobatic and sensational lengths in order to deny the determined Panther strike force.

As the extra frame began, the Panthers looked hungry. They took the opening faceoff and charged into Williams territory only to be repelled once again by the stifling Eph defense. Williams did not waste any time setting up a counterattack. They worked the ball through the Panther midfield and found themselves knocking on McGillen's door. The ball was quickly played into the circle and Cathleen Clark of Williams did not hesitate. The Eph attacker smacked the ball out of midair and rifled it past McGillen's last line of defense for the winner.

Although this tightly contested semifinal did not end up favoring the Panthers, they still live to fight another day. By receiving an at-large tournament bid to the NCAA Championship, the Panthers are still alive and there is hardware to be won. As it turns out, Manhattanville will be bringing their show up the road to Peter Kohn's turf. This is the first ever meeting between the two schools and it promises to be an intense matchup with both teams hoping to advance. Manhattanville earned an automatic bid by winning the Freedom Conference's season title. Their goalkeeper has recorded five shutouts thus far but there is little chance that the mighty Panther offensive attack will be held scoreless in consecutive games. With the road to the championship ahead, Middlebury will be completely focused on the challenges that lie in wait, while last weekend's detour remains a distant memory.