Field hockey skirts competition

Author: Maeve McGilloway

The Middlebury field hockey team continued on its undefeated path this weekend by beating Wesleyan 6-1, earning fifth place in the current national rankings. Since 2001, the Panthers have defeated the Wesleyan Cardinals nine consecutive times. However, in last season's Wesleyan match the Middlebury win was decided by just one goal in a 2-1 victory. This Saturday's high-scoring game was an obvious indication of the strength and speed of this year's forward line, particularly given that the Panthers have already scored five or more goals in four of the five games they have played this season - a feat they accomplished a total of five times last season.

The team might originally have been concerned that this year's offense would need some restructuring and rebuilding after graduating Reid Berrien '08. Berrien, second to Heidi Howard '98 in scoring, finished her career in the Middlebury Field Hockey Hall of Fame for the most single season and cumulative career goals. As this weekend's scoreboard suggests, the loss of Berrien has not proven too great a strain for the Panthers. Luckily, the women will have the best of both worlds as both Berrien and Howard provide support as assistant coaches for the 2008-2009 season.

While the team's brilliant attacks lit up the field on Saturday, offense is not the team's only strong suit. Marnie Rowe '08.5 believes that each win is a collective team effort. "We are a very cohesive and close team and everyone's role is important," said Rowe, "I think our success on the field reflects the kind of team we are off the field."

Co-captain Taryn Petrelli '09 observed that in last Saturday's contest against Wesleyan, the strong on-field dynamics were unmistakably apparent.

"We had a lot of different passing connections that led to great goals," said Petrelli. "Our corners have been really successful as well, both offensively and defensively."

One successful penalty corner combination that ended in a Panther goal was Heather McCormack's '10 assist to Sally Ryan '11. McCormack fed the ball perfectly to the top of the circle, where Ryan was waiting to powerfully drive and place the ball in goal for the second time that day. Another triumphant penalty corner connection was Allison Grant's '11 assist to Emily Blair '12, who scored her second career goal at Middlebury.

Also contributing to the scoreboard was McCormack, Chase Delano '11 and Sophie Thompson '09. Thompson was able to take advantage of her one-on-one with the goalkeeper when she converted a penalty stroke, making it a 6-0 game before Wesleyan answered back with one goal of its own

Co-captain and goalie Caitlin Pentifallo '12, who made five saves in the game, believes that this weekend's win gives the Panthers more confidence as they continue to prepare for their upcoming contests.

"I would say we are right where we want to be at this point, especially leading into the next two weeks with two very important league games on the road," said Pentifallo.

The Panthers will travel to Maine in the next week to play Colby and then again on Oct. 4th to face Bowdoin, the team that beat Middlebury last year by one goal in the NCAA championship. However, when the Middlebury field hockey team travels north this time around, they will guarantee to do everything in its power to make sure that Bowdoin does not remain in the number one spot.