The now second-ranked field hockey team went on the road to conference foe Colby this past Saturday, Sept. 15, and delivered a commanding defensive performance to notch a 4-0 victory over the Mules.
While the Panthers dominated the game out of the gate, they were not able to convert a goal for nearly 25 minutes of play. Catherine Fowler '15 finally found the cage for Middlebury, ripping an unassisted goal past the Colby keeper to give the Panthers the lead. Alyssa Dimaio '15 added an insurance goal two minutes later, off of a feed from captain Lauren Greer '13 on a penalty corner set, to give Middlebury a 2-0 edge going into halftime.
"We ran a different penalty corner from the usual," said Dimaio. "Lauren Greer got a strong shot off of the insert pass, and it squeaked behind the goalie. I had far post and was able to put it away."
The Panthers controlled the first half in nearly every statistical category, gaining huge advantages in shots and penalty corners while keeping the ball out of their own defensive zone.
The second half saw more of the same for Middlebury, as Madeleine Despins '15 notched a goal six minutes after the break to stretch the lead to three. Greer then added a score of her own, pushing her season totals to six goals and 17 points through just three games, to give the Panthers their final 4-0 advantage.
By the final whistle, Middlebury had fired 36 shots on the Colby keeper, who recorded 16 saves in the loss. The Panthers surrendered just three shots and senior goalie Madeline Brooks '13 was needed for just one save en route to the shutout, a testament to defensive captain Margaret Souther '13 and the rest of the Middlebury defense, which kept the ball safely away from the cage for nearly the entire 70 minutes.
With the win, Middlebury moves to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in NESCAC play, while Colby falls to 0-2 with both losses coming against conference opponents. The Panthers host two NESCAC rivals this weekend on Saturday and Sunday as they take on Bowdoin and Amherst in a pair of matches that will likely determine the early favorites in both conference and national play.
"While we're excited about the 3-0 start, we're also aware that there is a long road ahead of us," said Dimaio. "This weekend is going to be very important for our goals going forward."
Field Hockey Improves to 3-0 in Early Season Action
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