Middlebury College Field Hockey faced off at home against Westfield State University on Nov. 12, marking its 25th NCAA tournament appearance — under the lights, on a cold Wednesday night.
Prior to the contest, Westfield State boasted a 18-4 record on their season.
Middlebury got on the board within the first minute of the game when midfielder Megan Fuqua ’27 scored off of a penalty stroke. In the second quarter, Fuqua scored on yet another stroke.
Claire McMichael ’27 tallied the Panthers’ third goal in the second half. Soon after, Addie Chandler ’29 sent a quick-moving pass down the field for Fuqua, who expertly recovered the ball on the back side of her stick, spun around, and sent a reverse chip soaring into the top left corner of the goal.
The Panthers continued to dominate over the Owls. Fuqua tallied her fourth goal of the game, assisted by Captain Grace Keefe ’26. The sixth and final goal of the game for Middlebury came from Chandler, tallying her eighth on the season.
The victory marked Head Coach Katherine DeLorenzo’s 500th career win, a milestone achieved by only 14 other field hockey coaches across the history of all three NCAA divisions.
Following their triumph over Westfield State, the Panthers faced Endicott College on Nov. 15 at Johns Hopkins University. Earlier in the season, Middlebury fell to Endicott 1-2 in an overtime upset.
“Going into the Endicott game, everyone was just excited at the opportunity to play them again,” Chandler told The Campus. “Second chances are rare in sports, and we came in with a chip on our shoulder, using our previous loss as fuel.”
The Panthers entered halftime following two early, first quarter goals from Endicott.
However, Middlebury responded in the third quarter with a shot by McMichael that brought the score to 1-2. Not long after, Fuqua executed a perfect penalty stroke, tying the game and sending the Panthers and the Gulls into overtime. This marked Fuqua’s 14th goal this season, the highest total on the team.
During the second overtime period, McMichael delivered again by sending a soaring backhanded shot past the Endicott goalie and into the back of the net.
“We went down early but we [collected] ourselves, played together, chipped away, and were able to force overtime,” Keefe told the Campus. “I think that game was representative of our efforts all season long, we never counted ourselves out of any game, we played with and for each other and played our hearts out.”
The ninth-ranked Middlebury team beat #8 Endicott in yet another overtime thriller. Middlebury has set a program high of playing 10 overtime games this season, with four of these going into shootouts.
“Those are the kind of games you remember, not necessarily because of the happy ending, but because of our resilience and relentlessness throughout,” Chandler wrote to The Campus.
The next day, Middlebury faced Johns Hopkins University in the Elite 8. The two teams faced each other last in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Regional Final last year, with Middlebury beating Johns Hopkins 3–1 along their championship-winning run. The Panthers also defeated the Blue Jays in the championship game in 2021, 2022, and 2023, but were bested this year in the budding rivalry.
“Hopkins had a really great team this season and they were fierce competitors for the full 60 minutes,” Fuqua said. “They had a game plan, and they executed. It was exciting to play in such a competitive game in the Elite 8 round of the tournament, and we can only expect that teams will get better with each season.”
Middlebury bowed out to Johns Hopkins 0–3. Hopkins advanced to the championship game, ultimately losing to Tufts.
“I am proud of the way we gave it our all and left everything on the field, and that game definitely gave me a lot of motivation [for] next season,” Fuqua said.
For the first time since 2016, Middlebury field hockey did not lift the national title, breaking their historic seven-year streak. While this is not the result the players had hoped for, they refuse to be discouraged.
“Middlebury College field hockey showed me that success comes from hard work, but it can and should be joyful,” Keefe told The Campus.
For the rest of the team, this season must motivate towards the future, providing the squad with valuable lessons in perseverance.
“We grew so much as a group this season, and I am so excited to come out firing next year. We know where our gaps are and what things we need to work on in the off season, and we have a really exciting group of players returning for the 2026 season,” Fuqua said.
Despite failing to repeat as national champions, the season was far from a wash.
“My biggest takeaway from this season is the amount of resilience and determination on this team,” defender Ally Kennedy ’27 said. “In every game this season, not just the 10 games that went into overtime, every single person on this team was determined to contribute everything they possibly could.”
