After a tough loss to Trinity last weekend, the Panthers came ready to fight on Wednesday, April 22 against Williams and Saturday, April 25 against Amherst.
On Wednesday, the team fought fiercely throughout the game with several lead changes. Bridget Instrum ’16 scored a career high six goals and Catherine Fowler ’15 earned a game-high six draws. These two efforts were assisted by several other contributions, which helped the Panthers to a 13-11 victory against Williams.
The win over Williams solidified the Panthers’ second seed in the NESCAC playoff tournament, setting them up for a quarterfinal matchup with the seventh-seeded Lord Jeffs of Amherst. The Panthers were 9-5 winners during the teams’ lone regular-season matchup back in March.
Saturday against Amherst was once again a blood battle for the Panthers. This NESCAC quarterfinal game, played on Kohn Field, concluded with a 9-8 victory for Middlebury. The game started out with a quick goal from Mary O’Connell ’17, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead that was answered by a pair of goals by Amherst before Megan Griffin ’16 scored to make it a 2-2 tie. The half followed by two more goals from Amherst and 3 more from Middlebury by Laurel Pascal ’16, Katie Ritter ’15 and Hollis Perticone ’18. The Panthers went into the half leading 5-4.
Amherst, scoring four unanswered goals in the first 11 minutes, dominated the second half. The Lord Jeffs lead 8-5 with 19:10 left in the game.
At that point, Ritter scored an unassisted goal which was the catalyst to lockdown defense and fearless offense by the Panthers.
Alli Sciarretta ’16 followed with a score to bring the score to a one-point deficit. Perticone finished what Ritter had started with two goals to lead the Panthers to a 9-8 wins over Amherst.
Although the Panthers had fewer shots on goals, their draw controls were unmatched by Amherst, which helped send them to victory. Perticone led the team with three goals while Maddie Kinker ’16 once again played a stellar game with six saves in the net.
“Despite being down three goals with 15 minutes left to go, we found a way to refocus themselves and never let each other think we were going to lose the game,” Pascal said. “We did that by playing off each other’s energy and carrying that momentum into the next play when it counted.”
The Panthers head into the semifinals against Bowdoin this Saturday, May at Trinity.
“We played a great game against Bowdoin in the regular season but there were definitely a few things we wanted to work on after our first game against them,” Perticone said. “We know what type of team they are and what it takes to beat them.”
If they win, the Panthers will advance to play either top-ranked Trinity or fourth-ranked Tufts on Sunday at Trinity.
“This week we are really focusing on decision-making and how to play smart in certain situations,” Pascal said. “We are also trying to perfect our offensive plays and how to play to each other’s strengths.”
