Field Hockey Takes Bowdoin Down

The seventh-ranked field hockey team won its only Nescac game of the weekend by defeating No. 10 Bowdoin 1–0 in a double overtime thriller on Saturday, Sept. 23 at Bowdoin, before traveling to Babson, where they fell to the Beavers 2–1. With the split, the Panthers move to 4–2 overall and 3–1 in the Nescac.

After a scoreless regulation and overtime period, just 26 seconds into the second half of OT.

Annie Leonard ’18 scored the goal to break the scoreless affair and give the Panthers the win, another epic chapter in the rivalry. Erin Nicholas ’21 moved the ball from left to right in the circle then fed Leonard on the right side of the goal, who placed the ball in the back of the net.

The Panthers outshot the Polar Bears 25–8, but it took all 25 to defeat the Polar Bears as Bowdoin Maddie Ferrucci made 14 saves.

In the first start of her career, Abby Furdak ’21 stopped five shots and earned her first career shutout as well.

Leonard’s goal was her 61st of her career, putting her third in program history in career goals.

“It’s an exciting feeling and a huge honor to see my name in the books next to people whom I’ve looked up to,” said Leonard, who needs five more goals to tie Heid Howard ’99 at 66 career tallies.

The shutout also marked the 250th win for head coach Katherine DeLorenzo, who is in her 17th season at Middlebury and holds a 250–60 record — good for a remarkable .806 winning percentage.

Against No. 2 Babson on Sunday, the Panthers didn’t waste any time getting points on the board that day. Grace Jennings ’19 tallied her first goal of the season, finishing a feed from Molly Freeman ’19 into the back of Babson’s net.

Babson tied up the game at one 25 minutes later. The game winner against the Panthers came 49 minutes into the match, off a penalty corner finish against the Middlebury defense.

Despite the loss, Leonard thought the Panthers adapted well and played good defense all weekend.

“This weekend we did a particularly good job of adapting to the different conditions we faced. From practicing on water-based AstroTurf all week, to playing on dry AstroTurf on Saturday, to field turf on Sunday, in addition to facing two very different teams, we adjusted well to the conditions and were able to maintain pressure on our opponents and play tough throughout the entirety of both games. Our team defense overall was excellent, and we did a stellar job of making forward progression very difficult for the opposition. In addition, our first-year goalie, Abby Furdak, started her first two games this weekend, and stepped up very well and made some big saves.”

Even in defeat, the Panthers outshot the Beavers 16–11 and had 14 penalty corners to the Beavers’ 6.

“There were many opportunities on offense, particularly inside the circle and on corner plays, that we couldn’t quite capitalize on, so that will certainly be a focus for us in practice this week,” Leonard said. “Our team is very strong technically and tactically, but this weekend was especially important in telling what we need to work on specifically going forward. We look forward to addressing these focus areas in practice and are excited for what’s to come.”

The Panthers will host Nescac foe Colby on Saturday, Sept. 30, before another nonconference home matchup against Rensselaer on Tuesday, Oct. 3.