Field hockey edges Ephs

Author: Maeve McGilloway

In a span of 72 hours, the Middlebury field hockey team beat the Williams Ephs on two occasions, winning 3-2 in double overtime on Oct. 31 and then 2-1 on Nov. 2 in the NESCAC quarterfinals. The Ephs are a familiar foe and rival of the Panthers. Looking back at Middlebury versus Williams' field hockey matchups since 1973, the Ephs have won 19 times, but these two weekend wins gave Middlebury an advantage with a total of 21 seasons where they dominated the Ephs.

While most of the campus reveled in Halloween festivities, the Panthers were on the road traveling to Renzie Lamb Field in Williamstown, Mass. With an initial surge of momentum, the Ephs scored off a penalty corner in the first five minutes of play. But the Panthers were not shaken and responded with a goal in the last ten minutes of the half when Allison Grant '11 assisted Chase Delano '11. After entering halftime with a 2-1 deficit, the Middlebury sophomore duo Delano and Grant were again the winning combination as Grant assisted Delano off a penalty corner to tie up the game. Grant dropped the ball to Delano, whose blast from the arc was just inside the far post. Williams was able to bring it to a draw when they netted their second goal with just six seconds left in the first period.

The game concluded with the 2-2 stalemate and thus required overtime play. This setup pits the top seven players from both squads in a sudden death situation. This high-pressure overtime circumstance certainly gave Middlebury goalkeeper Caitlin Pentifallo '09 her Halloween scare, but she was not rattled and kept Williams scoreless. She ended the game with a total of six saves. Co-captain Pentifallo '09 has played 1,041 minutes this season, owning a 1.28 GAA with five shutouts on the year.

After a scoreless first overtime period Middlebury was able to calm everyone's fears as Delano and Grant connected once again, this time with reversed roles as Delano assisted Grant's game-winning goal. When asked about the on-field chemistry between Delano and herself, Grant commented that it must be due to the fact that they are roommates and best friends. She went on to attribute their success to both team dynamics and communication.

"Our team has been really good about communicating well on the field," Grant said, "so it makes it easy to see those give and goes for everyone."

Two days later, the Ephs were the road team, traveling to Middlebury for the first round of the NESCAC playoffs. Sunday's game was the last home tilt of the season for Middlebury seniors: Taryn Petrelli '09, Sophie Thompson '09, Lindsay McBride '09, Marnie Rowe '08.5 and Pentifallo, each of whom have played in all 15 games this season.

Energized from Friday's success, Middlebury dominated play in the first half, creating multiple scoring opportunities that resulted in an 11-1 shot advantage for the Panthers. Mullery Doar '10 and Grant made attempts before Delano finally got one on the scoreboard off another skillfully executed penalty corner. In the subsequent half Delano went unassisted as she doubled the lead for Middlebury. This marked Chase Delano's 23rd goal of the season and now she is not only the team's highest scorer but also ties her assistant coach Heidi Howard's record for most goals in a single season.

Williams continued to pressure the Middlebury defense and earned seven penalty corners, all of which were unsuccessful. Petrelli continued to be a defensive strength, solidifying her place as one of the better mobile defenders in the conference. Dana Heritage '10, who has also started and played in all 15 games this season, also continues to be a steady force on the defensive line.

Although Williams' Jess Overlander was able to penetrate the solid Middlebury defense as she put Williams on the board, Pentifallo made sure that the Ephs did not come off with another goal, allowing for a Panther victory. In light of Williams' 2001, 2002 and 2004 NESCAC titles in contrast to Middlebury's only conference crown in 2003, this win was particularly significant.

"That is all history," commented Doar. "We are now only concerned about the future and doing everything in our power to make sure we come out of each game triumphantly."

Middlebury heads into NESCAC semifinals this weekend riding a six-game winning streak and outscoring opponents by a 25-4 margin over that time. The Panthers are second in the conference, having scored the most goals per game with an average of 4.44. They hope to continue this success as they play the Bowdoin Polar Bears this weekend, who they lost to by just one goal in the NCAA finals last season.

Last year, they couldn't finish and capitalize off penalty corners to win the game. That has certainly not been the case this year as they have earned a total of 137 penalty corners this season, more than half of which have been converted to goals.

Bowdoin considers next weekend's game a "clash between the two field hockey giants," according to Doar. The Panthers are certainly giants in the sense that this year's team has extraordinary size and power, fully prepared to rematch Bowdoin this weekend.