The women’s field hockey team cruised to a 4-1 victory over Tufts in a NESCAC semifinal round on Saturday before falling to Bowdoin in Sunday’s championship game. The Panthers (16-2) were looking for their fourth consecutive championship title, after beating Bowdoin (18-0) in each of the last three NESCAC championship games, but the top-ranked Polar Bears were able to take back this year’s title in a 2-1 victory.
“The team produced another win over nationally ranked Tufts on Saturday in the NESCAC semi-final,” Coach Katharine DeLorenzo reflected.
Tufts’ offense started Saturday’s game on the attack, earning four penalty corners in the first 16 minutes of play. Middlebury responded quickly, and the Panthers converted their second corner of the game to make it 1-0 in the 24th minute. Pam Schulman ’17 netted a ball redirected to her by co-Captain Bridget Instrum ’16, who received the insert from Caroline Knapp ’18.
Less than eight minutes later, Instrum recorded her second assist of the game, feeding Molly Freeman ’19 for a goal that put the Panthers up 2-0.
The Jumbos were almost able to get on the scoreboard in the final few minutes of the opening half when they earned another penalty corner, but Middlebury’s co-Captain Jillian Green ’16 was waiting on the goal line to deny the ball that made it past Panther goalie Emily Miller ’17. Tufts saw another promising shot turned away by the Middlebury defense, when co-captain Shannon Hutteman ’16 met Maggie Chapman’s ball on the goal line when it had snuck behind Miller.
Annie Leonard ’18 scored her 19th and 20th goals of the season in the second half, finding the back of the net in the 43rd and 52nd minutes. Grace Jennings ’19 assisted Leonard’s first, while the second goal was a solo effort.
Tufts had one more shot turned away by a defensive save from Green in the final seven minutes before finally finding the back of the net. The Jumbos earned one final corner in the 70th minute, and Hanaa Malik successfully converted it to a goal to spoil Middlebury’s shutout.
Tufts outshot the Panthers 11-10 while holding a 10-7 advantage in penalty corners. Jumbo Emily Polinksi ended the day with five saves, while Miller recorded two saves in the winning effort.
The Panthers met the host school on Sunday in the championship match.
“Sunday’s final against rival Bowdoin was a battle from the opening whistle,” DeLorenzo said. “The team carried the early momentum, setting a strong tone and fast pace to the game.”
Indeed, both teams attacked strong and early. The game remained scoreless as both goalies recorded a pair of early saves, before Bowdoin put themselves on the scoreboard at the 12-minute mark. Polar Bear Kimmy Ganong fired a shot at Miller, who made an initial save, but Rachel Kennedy capitalized on the rebound for a 1-0 lead.
Seven minutes later, Freeman responded for the Panthers, launching a shot into the air that deflected off Bowdoin goalie Clara Belitz before finding the back of the cage. Miller saved another Kennedy attempt with nine minutes remaining in the half to keep the game tied at 1-1. The Panther defense then made a huge block on Kelsey Mullaney’s penalty corner attempt in the remaining minutes of the first half.
Almost 20 minutes into the second, the Polar Bears scored what would be the game winning goal following a broken penalty corner. Middlebury’s defense disrupted Bowdoin’s corner, which sent a loose ball over towards the left side of the circle. Emily McColgan collected the ball and sent a shot through an open hole to put Bowdoin up 2-1.
The Polar Bears did not back down their offensive effort, nearly adding a third goal a few minutes later. However, Caroline Knapp ’18 was able to block the Polar Bears on the right post.
Middlebury continued to attack the Bowdoin defense as well, with Audrey Quirk ’18 firing off one final shot in the last seven minutes. The Panthers pulled Miller with 1:36 remaining in the game to put an additional attacker on the field, but the Polar Bears held on for the win.
“This weekend’s loss was tough, but we are confident the team will grow stronger from it,” Green said. “We worked together and played well as a unit, which we hope to bring into the NCAA tournament. Having another week of practice before the second round of NCAA’s is a huge advantage, and as a team we are very excited to show the NCAA what Middlebury field hockey is all about.”
Despite the loss, the Panthers have earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The team will make its 13th consecutive and 16th overall appearance in the Tournament when it travels to William Smith for the NCAA Regional tournament this weekend. The Panthers (16-2) will meet the winner of a Wednesday game between Cabrini (12-8) and Franklin & Marshall (16-3) on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m.
