Field hockey faces a tall task, comes up just short

Author: Jeff Patterson

With temperatures more suited for ice hockey than field hockey - and the women's hockey team preparing for its season opener against Elmira - the Middlebury field hockey team took to Ursinus College's Snell Field on Oct. 17 and faced a Bowdoin team that had won 19 straight games, and 32 of its last 33 going back to last year, for the national championship. The Polar Bears made it 20 straight with a 4-3, come-from-behind victory, winning the school's first-ever NCAA title.

"Who wouldn't be excited and ready to go to play in a national championship game?" said co-captain Lacey Farrell '08, when asked about the difficulty of coming back some 20 hours after the overtime-thriller against Salisbury that sent the Panthers into the championship game. "Adrenaline does wonders. In both the regional games and again in the Final Four, I think there were definitely moments where I was absolutely exhausted. However, there wasn't a moment where I wasn't able to give it my all. It was a huge adrenaline rush."

Despite having lost five consecutive contests going into the matchup with their northeastern neighbors, Farrell and her fellow co-captain Reid Berrien '08 liked the Panthers' chances.

"Throughout the whole game I thought we could beat them," said Berrien, who did everything in her power to power the offense.

Down two goals and with the season seemingly slipping away, Berrien scored her 22nd goal of the year. That was as close as the Panthers would get though, as Polar Bear netminder Emileigh Mercer showed no mercy and even the close-range shots.

"We played an awesome game, scored more goals on them than they have allowed all season," said Farrell, "and quite frankly we really scared them."

Still, the Polar Bears, led by NESCAC Player of the Year Lindsay McNamara - who recorded a hat trick - scared up the necessary resolve to hang on for the victory.

"She definitely got the best of us in the final game," said Farrell. "I have played against many great players throughout my career, some incredible defenders and goalies as well as forwards. She definitely ranks right up there."

Middlebury's own Lindsay, Lindsay McBride '09, had a tremendous tournament in her own right. McBride, who scored one goal in the Round of 16 against Messiah, two goals in the quarterfinals against The College of New Jersey, one goal against Salisbury in the semifinals, gave Middlebury at 2-1 lead in the finals.

Although it lasted for a mere 1:41, it marked the only time that the Polar Bears trailed all season.