Middlebury extended its winning streak to five games and remains on top of the NESCAC after defeating Amherst and Hamilton this past weekend.
The Panthers took an early lead in Saturday’s home game against Amherst, with Emma Johns ’20 (this week’s NESCAC Player of the Week) scoring two goals in the first eight minutes. Toward the end of the first half, captain Grace Jennings ’19 carried the ball up the left side of the field and sent it toward the net, where Molly Freeman ’19 tipped it in. Jennings set up another goal early in the second half, passing to sophomore Danielle Brown, who scored her fourth of the season.
Amherst initiated a quick comeback, managing to score three goals in less than 10 minutes to make the score 4–3 at 47:08. Responding to the challenge, Johns completed a hat trick just a few minutes later, scoring Middlebury’s final goal of the game. Though Amherst managed to find the back of the net one more time, the Panthers walked away with a 5–4 win.
“Every game is an opportunity for us to learn and grow as a team,” assistant coach Lauren Schweppe ’18 said. “The Amherst game was very competitive and showed us which areas of our game we could improve upon.”
Sunday’s decisive 4–0 win against Hamilton exemplified the team’s ability to adjust quickly. Middlebury posted 12 shots on goal — three times as many attempts as Hamilton. Goalkeeper Megan Collins ’19 stopped all four Hamilton shots, adding another shutout to her record and upping her save percentage to .692.
“Every year we start out with so many unique ingredients, and we are still trying to find out exactly what this team will look like and how we will accomplish our goals,” Jennings said about the ups and downs of the weekend. “But, even now, we are pretty excited about what we have so far and our journey ahead.”
Next up, the team takes on its longstanding rival Bowdoin at noon on Saturday, Sept. 22 at home. Come out to cheer on the Panthers as they battle to keep the top spot in the NESCAC.
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