Inside the Locker Room The Campus scores an interview with Reid Berrien

Author: James Kerrigan

Reid Berrien '08, who plays attack on the Middlebury field hockey team, was largely responsible for the preservation of the team's undefeated season as she netted the lone goal in the 1-0 win over Wesleyan. She uses the fast surface to her advantage as she has mastered the art of fooling opposing defenses.

From Westport, Conn. to Kohn Field, the junior has been scoring goals at a rampant pace. Last season she was tied for the NESCAC league lead with 33 points, including 15 goals. The team finished 14-4 and advanced to the NCAA regional game.

This season Berrien has unleashed 25 shots and scored three goals as the Panthers have started with five straight victories. In 2004, the last time field hockey opened with five wins, the team finished with a 17-2 record and a NCAA runner-up trophy.

Who knows the goal scorer better? Her attack partner Marnie Rowe '08.5 or good friend and basketball player Lani Young '08? Rowe dominates the offensive zone with Berrien. They link passes and generate many scoring chances. Rowe knows Berrien's go-to moves, but does she know her favorite movies? Young knows how to play on the hardwood and what shampoo Berrien uses, but does she know what it is like inside the locker room?

Rowe is accustomed to beating opponents by 1.4 goals per game (see "By The Numbers") on the field hockey field so there is no surprise she was able to outplay a new opponent in a new game by two points.

Young put up a good fight, but in the end it was the field hockey player who boxed out the basketball player. Rowe's experience of listening to Berrien's locker room singing and knowledge of her Grille purchases gave Rowe the leg up. After all, if you don't know what someone gets at the Grille, you don't know them at all.

When asked to choose Berrien's super power of choice, Rowe said it would be invisibility whereas Berrien chose flight. Nevertheless, the two attackers have both been seen (or not seen) slipping past opposing defenses at ease.

Berrien and Rowe look to acheive great success this year as the tandem has already accounted for six of the team's eleven goals this season. As Young cheers from the bleachers, the field hockey team is well on its way to competing for the NESCAC Championship and ultimately a birth into the NCAA tournament.