The Middlebury women’s field hockey team celebrated a victorious homecoming weekend by defeating Bates this past Saturday, Oct. 18 at home on Peter Kohn Field.
The Panthers came into the game confident from a 7-0 win over Hamilton on Wednesday and proved unrelenting in their Saturday morning NESCAC matchup. Defeating the Bobcats 6-0, the third ranked Panthers add another tally to their current eight-game winning streak.
The opening 12 minutes of the game stayed scoreless until Jillian Green ’16 scored her first of two goals for Middlebury. Senior captain Cat Fowler ’15 provided an assist from eight yards, which Green tapped in with 12:51 on the clock.
Green went on to score the following goal for the Panthers coming off of an assist on the left side by Lauren Berestecky ’17 after a penalty corner allowed the Panthers to work the ball around the circle at the 25-minute mark.
Middlebury controlled the remaining five minutes of play in the half, notching another two goals before the break. Fowler scored off of a shot by Olivia Jurkowitz ’17 with just two minutes to go in the half. Middlebury dominated the possession game, with Berestecky adding one more goal in the final seconds of play before the buzzer sounded.
Accumulating four goals in just the first half, the Panthers shined through the unfavorable rainy conditions and entered the second half with a comfortable lead.
Anna Kenyon ’16 scored the fifth goal of the day and her fourth of the season, tapped in from three yards out and assisted by Pam Schulman ’17. Less than ten minutes later, Fowler scored the final goal of the game, her second of the day, with an unassisted shot that ricocheted off the shin guard of a Bates player and glided into the goal.
The Bobcats were unable to answer the ferocious offense that the Panthers demonstrated, managing only three shots in the game, all to be saved by Middlebury goalkeeper Emily Knapp ’15.
“We were really able to play off of each others strong suits and capitalize on a lot of the penalty corners, ” Berestecky said.
The Bobcats’ goaltenders Cristina Vega and Katie Knox saved a combined ten of the sixteen shots on goal taken by the Panthers.
The Panthers, currently ranked third in the national poll, continue on in the season with a 12-1 record overall and an 8-1 mark in the NESCAC. With just two more regular season games left in the season, the Panthers currently sit atop the conference standings as the season winds down towards the NESCAC tournament.
The Panthers faced Castleton on Tuesday, Oct. 21 in a midweek matchup, earning a resounding victory over the out of conference opponent by a margin of 13-0. Seven different Middlebury players tallied goals in the contest, with hat-trick performances from Josie Trichka ’17 and Annie Leonard ’18. Fowler added two on the day, including her team-high 12th goal of the season.
The team’s performance helped propel Coach Katharine DeLorenzo to her 300th career victory. She now owns a record of 300-114-2 in 14 years of coaching.
Middlebury returns to the field this Saturday, Oct. 25 for a matchup with ninth ranked Wesleyan at home. If the Panthers can get past the Cardinals, they will be able to turn their attention to sharpening their play in anticipation of the postseason. Expectations remain high for this team.
