The Middlebury women’s field hockey team experienced its first loss of the season this past Saturday in an extremely close game against the top-ranked Bowdoin Polar Bears that resulted in a 2-1 loss for the fourth-ranked Panthers.
A rematch of last year’s NESCAC championship game, the match featured a pair of national top-five teams scrambling for early-season control of the conference. The play on the field lived up to the match’s billing.
The Panthers were quick to score and take control of the game first half with a goal by senior captain Cat Fowler ’15 just four minutes into the start of the clock. Fowler was assisted by sophomore Bridget Instrum ’16 who dribbled into the midfield inside the 25 yard-line before looking to Fowler for a powerful drive to goal.
Goalie Emily Knapp ’15 made a crucial save 15 minutes into the game in which she left her goal to greet a Bowdoin attacker who had snuck past the defensive line. Knapp denied the shot aiding the Panthers in maintaining their 1-0 lead for the entire first half.
The Panthers were able to dictate the momentum in the first half due in large part to the stellar midfield play of senior duo Fowler and Alyssa DiMaio ’15, who combined for five shots in the first half alone to keep the pressure on Bowdoin. Middlebury held a 5-3 advantage in shots and a 4-2 advantage in penalty corners in the opening period of play.
Moving into the second half, Knapp again made an important save for the Panthers,vdenying a Polar Bear attacker to keep Middlebury in the lead.
While Middlebury dominated and maintained possession for a majority of the time, Bowdoin gained momentum during the last few critical moments of the game. The Polar Bears had a stroke called for them and were able to capitalize on it, sneaking a shot past Knapp into the bottom left corner of the goal to knot the score at one apiece with only two minutes left to play in the game.
Unfortunately for Middlebury, Bowdoin was not done scoring at that point.
With the intensity amplified by the sudden tie in the game’s closing minutes, the Polar Bears capitalized on their momentum by scoring a second goal less than a minute after their first to take the lead.
Just as time was running out, Middlebury had one final opportunity to force overtime, but the Panthers were unable to convert a penalty corner and fell by a final score of 2-1.
Sophomore midfielder Olivia Jurkowitz ’17 summarized her thoughts on the weekend’s matchup.
“Overall Midd had more scoring opportunities but we weren’t able to capitalize on them when needed, meanwhile Bowdoin had less chances but put them to use especially when it mattered most,” she said.
Bowdoin was able to pull the reversal on Middlebury due in large part to their statistical dominance in the second half. While the Panthers were dominant in the opening half, the Polar Bears put five shots on goal after the break to Middlebury’s one.
Now holders of a 4-1 record, Middlebury looks to regain its winning streak this coming Saturday, Sept. 27 as they travel to Waterville, ME for a NESCAC matchup with Colby. The Mules, who are currently 3-3, will try to pull an upset against the heavily favored Panthers.
Despite the loss, expectations remain high for the Panthers, who will look to postseason play as a possible opportunity to get their revenge on Bowdoin.
