Field Hockey Women Stay Hot

Author: Tom McCann

Last weekend saw the Middlebury College field hockey team travel to Trinity in an attempt to build on their season opening win against Skidmore the previous weekend. As co-captain Becca Brakeley '04 noted, "Intense competition between NESCAC teams means that on any given day, any team can beat any other." With this in mind, Middlebury knew nothing short of their best would be enough to get the win against Trinity.

As it turned out, Middlebury did not play as well as they might have but when the flair and creativity wasn't clicking, the Panthers found another way to win. In times like those, the best teams are able to come together in order to graft out a result with sheer determination and desire. The first goal of the game went against Middlebury but instead of faltering, the women responded and found a way back into the game and even took a slender 2-1 advantage into the second half. Knowing that the team who wanted it the most would win, Middlebury scored twice more to open up a 4-1 advantage before Trinity scored a consolation towards the end. A brace from Char Glessner '04 with further goals from Ashley Pullen '05 and Ashley Lyddane '06 took Middlebury to a 4-2 victory and a second consecutive win to open the season.

On Tuesday night, the women boarded the bus once again and headed to Springfield for what they knew would be a very tough game. After an overtime win last year Middlebury were confident but also aware that Springfield would employ an unconventional defensive strategy. By 'clumping' around the ball and double, even triple-teaming opposing players, Springfield made it as hard as they could for Middlebury to play their natural game. However, this approach brought the best out the Panthers as it encouraged them to swing the ball around and behind the defense in order to get a sight of goal. Middlebury rose to the challenge and played a game that even brought the referee to commend them afterwards. Half time saw the Panthers lead 1-0 thanks to another goal from Glessner but the second half was where the drama unfolded. Perhaps inspired by a team-talk, Springfield came out and equalized the Middlebury opener 10 minutes into the second half. From there, the game stayed on a knife-edge until 15 minutes from time when Glessner struck again to put Middlebury in the lead once more. Finally, with time ticking away, a goal by Emily Enos '06, courtesy of crisp passing and a double assist from Glessner and Claire Edelen '07 put the icing on the cake and sealed a precious 3-1 victory. A combination of pretty passing and rock solid defense allowed Middlebury to prevail again and should hold them in good stead for the rest of the season. Even a return to Middlebury in the early hours of Wednesday morning could not dampen the spirits of the women who now look toward a trip to Wesleyan next weekend before hosting Colby and Bowdoin the weekend following.