Panthers breeze past Bobcats in lax opener

Author: Julia Ireland

The Panthers did not waste any time in securing a 14-6 win over Bates College in their season opener on Saturday. The Panthers made their statement early, scoring six goals in the first 11 minutes of the game, all from sophomore attackers Chase Delano '11 and Sally Ryan '11. Delano had six goals in the win and tallied two assists while Ryan recorded two goals.

Middlebury commanded the game from the start and maintained control throughout. "The key for us was the energy we came out with from the first whistle of the game and carried throughout the entire first half," said Lindsay McBride '09, who had two assists in the win. "We kept up the pressure and the pace in the second half and kept Bates on their heels."

The Panthers held the lead for the duration of the first half as they cruised to halftime. Delano netted her fifth goal as the buzzer sounded at the end of the first half to make the score 11-0. Middlebury then extended its lead to 12-0 early in the second half with Delano's sixth goal.

The Bates players, however, did not surrender without a fight. Coming out with a stronger effort in the second half, the Bobcats scored six goals in the final 26 minutes of the game. But the Middlebury defense was anxious not to allow the deficit to shrink any more than that.

The Panther defense proved to be a defining factor of the game. Executing a new system that they have been practicing, the Middlebury defenders kept the Bates attackers on their heels.

"We have been working a lot on our defensive strategy and I think we executed it really well against Bates," added McBride. "They were clearly uncomfortable with the pressure our defense put on them and our defense caused a ton of Bates turnovers."

The aggressive tactics in the D-zone were extremely effective as the defenders shut down the Bates offense. Senior goaltender and co-captain Blair Bowie '09 made 10 saves between the pipes and first-year Lily Nguyen '12 saw time in net at the end of the game, making one save for the Panthers.

"Our defense came out raring and ready to go in our new zone," said Dana Heritage '10. "Blair led the D with her shutout performance in the first half." Heritage tallied one goal and four assists in Middlebury's victory.

The new defensive structure was not the only adjustment the team had to make, with new rules concerning yellow cards providing another factor the team had to consider before the game.

"Getting accustomed to the new rules has been different," added Heritage. "It means that we have to be careful about our checks because with three yellow cards the team must play a man down the rest of the game."

Middlebury proved up to the challenge of a new defense within new rules. The definitive win by Middlebury is a culmination of weeks of preparation in practice. "It was really great to see all of our hard work coming together for this win," said McBride.

The victory is a step in the right direction in Middlebury's quest to regain dominance of the NESCAC, which has become a more competitive league in recent years. "The fun thing is that our league keeps getting stronger and there is no team that you can brush off anymore," said Heritage. "Ultimately, we are working toward regaining the NESCAC tournament title, but in order to do that we must beat these teams during the regular season."

Middlebury will play against Babson in its first home game of the season this Friday, March 13 at 3:30 PM.