The Middlebury women’s field hockey team has earned a spot in the NCAA Division-III semifinals this past weekend, winning their own regional tournament to move on to the final rounds, hosted in Lexington, Va. on Nov. 22 and 23. The Panthers earned a pair of victories in the regional rounds on Peter Kohn Field this past Friday and Saturday, Nov. 14 and 15.
The Panthers opened the weekend on Saturday against the University of New England. A tough fight was expected out of UNE as they finished their regular season 11-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference and received several individual league honors such as defensive player of the year for Beth Sullivan as well as coach of the year for Danielle Collins.
Despite these accolades the Panthers were able to best the Nor’easters, earning a shutout win of 7-0.
Jillian Green ’16 began the scoring just under nine minutes into the game, tapping the ball into the goal off of an original shot by Pam Schulman ’17. Within the next five minutes the Panthers would accumulate two more goals to start an early lead of 3-0 in the first 15 minutes of play.
The second goal of the day came from Cat Fowler ’15 off of a pass from Olivia Jurkowitz ’17, who dribbled down the left side of the field before finding Fowler in the middle ready to receive a cross. Jurkowitz and Schulman would prove to have excellent games, both tallying two goals and an assist each.
Schulman scored her first of two goals on the day just before the 15-minute mark with an unassisted drive from the right side of the field, rifling a shot past the UNE goaltender. Jurkowitz scored her two goals back to back within ten minutes of each other to close the first half, with Fowler assisting on both goals.
The second half proved a possession game for the Panthers who netted two more goals to clinch their progression into the next round of regionals held on Sunday. Green scored her second goal of the day 50 minutes in off of a penalty corner. Fowler was the final player to score on Saturday with an unassisted tap into the goal from outside the six with 55 minutes on the clock.
The Panthers moved on 18-1 while UNE’s season was brought to an end with a final record of 17-7.
Ursinus College faced Franklin and Marshall on Saturday afternoon as well in a competitive matchup, ultimately defeating the Diplomats 2-1 to advance into the final round of regionals on Sunday against the Panthers.
Second-ranked Middlebury defeated fifth-ranked Ursinus 5-1 on Sunday to win the NCAA regional final and secure a spot in the final four. An early hat trick from Bridget Instrum ’16, her second of the season, would solidify the Panthers’ lead throughout the game.
Ursinus came out strong in the opening minutes of the game, but Panther goalie Emily Knapp ’15 was able to block both attempts. A change of pace came for the Panthers, who proceeded to score five goals in a row, eliminating any chance for Ursinus to reestablish a foothold in the contest.
Instrum started her hat trick with a goal 18 minutes into play, assisted by a cross from the left from Alyssa DiMaio ’15. Fowler crossed the ball from the right six minutes later to find Instrum again in front of the goal.
Instrum’s hat trick was completed at the start of the second half, 39 minutes into play, when she drove the ball down the left side of the field before tapping it past the Ursinus goalie.
Schulman got on the board again with a goal assisted by Jurkowitz at the 44-minute mark. The final Panther goal of regionals came 11 minutes later, scored by Green who tapped in a cross coming from Fowler.
Meanwhile, Ursinus managed just one goal against the Panthers when Danielle Stong managed to push in rebounded shot.
The 5-1 victory on Sunday means the Panthers advance on to the national semifinals for the sixth time in the program’s history. Middlebury will face fourth-ranked, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in the semis while third-ranked Bowdoin will play top-ranked Salisbury.
The Panthers move onto nationals with an impressive 19 victories thus far this season, tying the current Middlebury record previously set in 2003.
Middlebury and TCNJ last saw each other in the national championship game back in 2011, the current seniors’ first year in the program. The Panthers fell 3-1 in that contest, marking the last time that they have participated in a national championship. Clearly that loss will weigh on the seniors’ minds as they look to cap off their historic 2014 season in Virginia.
