Field hockey downs Tufts, falls to Ursinus

Less than 24 hours after a thrilling come-from-behind victory over their NESCAC rival Tufts to advance to the regional finals of the NCAA tournament, the Middlebury Panthers (13-5) saw their season come to an end with a 3-0 loss against Ursinus (20-1), the host school.
Middlebury could not overcome the relentless defense and non-stop offense of the Ursinus Bears, who dominated the stat sheet with a 28-9 shot advantage, 18-6 penalty corner advantage and just one save from goalie Laura Lightwood-Mayer to earn the shutout.
Ursinus’ first goal came at the 13-minute mark of the first period, as forward Bridget Resetco slashed through Panther defenders and fired a rocket of a shot that found the top-right corner of the net for an unassisted goal, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead. The lead would be increased just eight minutes later, as Corinne Freeman took a pass from Jennifer Bayzick and got the ball past goalie Becca Shaw ’13, leaving the score at 2-0 going into halftime. The Bears continued their relentless attack into the second half, and five minutes in Ursinus scored their third and final goal off of a penalty corner finished by Alyssa Thren. Despite the loss, Shaw gave an excellent effort in Middlebury’s final game of the season, saving a stunning 13 shots.
Ursinus goes on to the NCAA final four for the third straight season. While the Panthers’ season is now officially over, it did not end on a wholly bad note, as only a day before the Ursinus loss the team defeated Tufts (15-3) for the first time in years.
“It was an amazing feeling,” said Shaw, who had 10 saves in the Tufts game. “We have never beaten Tufts since I’ve been here, so it was exciting to come from behind and hold them off. We played like a complete unit.”   
The game was one of the most thrilling of the tournament, coming down to the final seconds of play. Tufts took an early 1-0 advantage nine minutes into the first period, as Lia Sagerman finished off a Jumbos attack with a tip-in after a flurry of missed shots. The Panthers evened the score eight minutes later in similar fashion, as junior Hannah Clarke ’12 finished off a Middlebury attack. Tufts scored again in the 27th minute of the first period, taking the 2-1 lead when Lindsay Griffith received a pass in the Panther scoring zone and fired a shot that found the back of the net. However, with only 22 seconds remaining in the half, Middlebury evened the score once again, as leading scorer Lauren Greer ’13 showed off her passing skills, finding Charlotte Gardiner ’13 for her second assist of the game.
Twelve minutes into the second half, Greer scored what would be the game-winner off of a Panther penalty corner. After the goal, Tufts had eight more shot opportunities, three of which were on goal. Yet ferocious Panther defense and an excellent effort by Shaw denied all of them, giving Middlebury the upset 3-2 victory. While the momentum from the Tufts game was not enough to carry the team past Ursinus, beating Tufts is an excellent bar to set for next season.