Field Hockey Wins One of Two

Author: Andrew Zimmermann

The trip to Maine is always a tough one for any Middlebury team. In a weekend which saw a host of Panther teams travel to Vacationland, the field hockey team returned home with a split of its two games against Colby and Bowdoin. Middlebury played one of its best games of the young season in Waterville, winning 2-0 against a strong Colby squad. Sunday's results were not as sweet, with Bowdoin taking a 3-2 victory in a hard-fought contest.
Middlebury faced not only the challenge of the White Mules on Saturday but also that of playing on natural turf for the first time this fall. Coach Katharine DeLorenzo said of the game, "It was an outstanding win against Colby, especially in our first grass game this year." Despite the being outplayed for some of the first half, the Panthers jumped on the board with 6:45 left on a goal by first-year Ashley Lyddane. The second half saw a lone insurance goal by Char Glessner '03.5 giving her for on the season.
The unequivocal star of the game however, was in the Middlebury net. Jo Opot '05, natural turf and all, swallowed five saves en route to the shutout. "Jo had the best game of her Middlebury career," commented DeLorenzo. She was largely responsible for keeping Middlebury in the game early as Colby was applying serious pressure.
After an emotional win, the team headed to Bowdoin Sunday. The game was back and forth finding Middlebury the aggressor as it attempted to rally from a 3-1 deficit early in the second half. The Panthers in their surge back had many offensive opportunities. One culminated in junior Becca Brakeley's first career goal. At 3-2, Middlebury found its time running out and the game eventually ended to that score. Both the Polar Bears and Panthers are tied atop the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) standings with Bates at 3-1.
Despite a win against Bowdoin last year, DeLorenzo admitted many things have changed. Bowdoin retained many of its top players and has, by far, the best goals-scored to goals-allowed ratio in the conference. "We are a much better team than a year ago," said DeLorenzo of another change from last year's matchup. "This year's game was a lot better and much closer than last year's.
A pleasant surprise for Middlebury has been the play of first-year Lyddane who added another goal in the loss to Bowdoin on Sunday. She currently sits tied with teammate Glessner at eighth in the NESCAC in goals per game. "She is a great field hockey player," said coach DeLorenzo. Look for Lyddane to make contributions other than scoring as until this point she has benefited from playing the main goal-scorer's position on the field.
Middlebury, with the help of all its talented players, travels to Keene State today. DeLorenzo noted that Keene State is an extremely tough team at home and that all of the practices leading up to today's game have been devoted to giving its opponent a different look. The same strategy will be used for the Panthers in a rematch of last season's NESCAC semifinal against Amherst this Saturday. Middlebury will also look to use its superior speed against the Lord Jeffs. Although Amherst has struggled to a 0-3 record in NESCAC look for a tight game against these rival teams this weekend.