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(01/24/18 9:30pm)
The men’s hockey team traveled to Maine seeking revenge over its Nescac rivals this past weekend. The Panthers started the weekend off strong, closing out a tight matchup over Colby 3–2 on Friday, Jan. 19. But, the men fell the following day to Bowdoin, for the second time this season, 2–1.
To start the weekend, the Panthers traveled to Waterville, Maine for a rematch against the Mules, who had beaten Middlebury 9–1 in the Panthers’ season opener.
The Colby men skated out strong, flashing an aggressive offense and won the race to light up the scoreboard first. Colby put a rebound past Stephen Klein ’18 in the first eight minutes, after Justin Grillo’s first shot was deflected. But the Panthers did not stand down. After seven more minutes of play, Michael Fahie ’21 earned his third goal of the year, bring the game to a tie as the teams entered the second period.
The Panthers got to work right away in the second period. Kamil Tkaczuk ’19 capitalized on a rebounded off a shot by Fahie, and scored to make it a 2–1 game. Middlebury’s defense held off the Mules for the rest of the period, protecting their lead until the third period.
Colby’s response came from Spencer Hewson, who took advantage of a power play opportunity to tie the game at 2. Both teams pressed their offense to try to find the decisive goal. Then, with less than two minutes to go, Frank Cosolito ’20 scored the game-winner on a shot from the right dot with 1:52 remaining in the contest, securing vengeance for the Panthers in the form of a 3–2 victory.
“We came to Colby looking for a little payback, which really motivated us going into the game,” said Ethan Cohen ’19 after the game. “Beyond that, we made sure to execute our game plan and to capitalize on our opportunities. Last time we played them we failed to do that. That change, and coming out of the gate a lot faster this time were ultimately the difference.”
Klein between the posts was once again a major key to victory for Middlebury. The Mules almost doubled the Panther’s shots on goal, tallying 41 attempts to Middlebury’s 22, but Klein’s impressive performance earned the team the win.
The Panthers trekked to Bowdoin on Saturday, Jan. 20, seeking to avenge their early season loss to the Polar Bears, but were ultimately unsuccessful.
In the first stanza, both teams protected their nets and they entered the middle stanza tied 0–0. Bowdoin’s Cody Todesco broke the silence, as he swiped a shot past Klein on a Polar Bear powerplay. The Polar Bears increased their lead just a few minutes later as Todesco set up Ronnie Lestan, making it easy for him to launch a shot into the back of the net.
The Panthers did not back down as they trailed Bowdoin by two tallies. Owen Powers ’20 found the back of the net when he scored a shorthanded goal with the help of Mitchell Allen ’20. Powers’ goal came with a little over 12 minutes remaining in the third period.
Middlebury was unable to break past the Polar Bear offense once more, as Bowdoin closed out the battle maintaining their 2–1 lead.
Middlebury will return to Kenyon Arena on Friday, Jan. 26, to host Connecticut College and on Saturday, Jan. 27, they will skate against Tufts for the second time this season.
In last place right now, the Panthers need to climb two spots in the Nescac standings if they want to qualify for the conference playoffs. With eight Nescac games left, the Panthers have plenty of time to make up the ground, and their game against Tufts, the team ahead of the in the standings, will be big for that reason.
(01/17/18 10:06pm)
While the campus was silent over winter break, the men’s hockey team made some noise down on the ice in Kenyon Arena. In their annual Middlebury Holiday Classic, the hosts shutout St. Michael’s 4–0 and slipped past the number three ranked Oswego State 4–3 on their road to victory. The Panthers came back from their successful weekend to face conference foes on home ice on Saturday, Jan. 6. But, their win streak was cut short as the men fell to both Wesleyan 6–1 and Trinity 3–0. Middlebury had another opportunity at home to entertain their loyal fans, but Plattsburgh State held tough and skated past the Panthers with a 3–2 win.
Middlebury showed signs of brilliance on Saturday, Dec. 30, sweeping the visiting St. Michael’s.
It was an even fight throughout the first stanza, with both Vermont teams unable to sneak the puck past their respective goalies. It was not until seconds into the second period that Owen Powers ’20 put the Panthers on the board, giving them the edge over the Purple Knights. He sent the shot to the right post with help from David Belluche ’18. Belluche was not finished yet, as he capitalized off of a perfect pass from Mitchell Allen ’20. This second tally gave the Panthers some room to breathe, but the hosts offense showed no signs of slowing. In the final period Danny Tighe ’20 and Trevor Turnbull ’20 slapped in two more goals to secure their advancement into the finals of the tournament.
Coming off of a strong showing the day before, the men skated confidently into the rink to upset third-ranked Oswego State 4–3 on Sunday, Dec. 31. The win is the highpoint for the program that continues to stay on schedule with its rebuild.
Oswego’s Tyson Bruce was the first player to knock a goal back in the first three minutes. But it took the Panthers no time to respond. Turnbull came up with the answer within minutes for his second goal of the weekend. After 13 minutes of evenly matched play, the Lakers overcame the Middlebury defense and notched a second tally to their score.
A 2–1 deficit did not intimidate the Panthers, which Belluche proved true as he countered the Lakers’ shot. With some help from Powers, Belluche evened the score at 2–2 as the team entered the second stanza. The middle period remained scoreless thanks to Stephen Klein ’18, blocking slaps from the Lakers with ease in order to keep his teammates in the game. Middlebury found a way to steal the lead from Oswego at 6:27 in the final period. Charlie Lawrence ’21 energized the crowd with a goal off of a pass from Allen. After ten minutes, the Lakers netted a shot past the Middlebury goalie off of a power play.
With the game on the line and the clock counting down, Allen was able to hammer a shot past the St. Michael’s goalie and lift the Panthers past the nationally ranked team.
Turnbull reflected on the victorious weekend.
“It was amazing to get a win like that at home,” said Turnbull. “As far as the games go, I think we just kept our play simple against Oswego and outworked them for three periods straight. We definitely surprised them but when we play with that confidence we showed we can beat anyone. On top of that it was also our seniors first tournament championship so to be able to give them that was something a lot of us will always remember.”
Unsurprisingly, Klein received the tournament’s most valuable player considering he closed out the tournament with 34 saves and 65–68 stopped shots. Powers and Belluche earned themselves a spot on the all-tournament team.
The Panthers returned the following weekend to compete against Nescac rivals. Wesleyan visited Kenyon Arena on Saturday, Jan. 6, and outplayed Middlebury 6–1.
Wesleyan tallied two goals within the first ten minutes of the first stanza. The Cardinals revealed its impressive offense, as Dylan Holze pelted a shot past Klein and Cam McCusker finished off a rebound. Trailing by two, Middlebury found a solution when Alex Heinritz ’21 broke through the Wesleyan defense and scored his first collegiate goal within minutes of the second period. But, the Cardinals quickly slid a shot past the Panthers just a minute later, as Vincent Lima earned one of two goals he would go on to score in the match. Lima increased the lead to 4–1 just before the second stanza came to a close.
In the final period, the Panthers were unable to find a way past the unrelenting Wesleyan defense despite their previous weekend’s success. Although the hosts were given multiple scoring opportunities, earning four power plays, each one was denied, and the visitors successfully netted two more strikes past Klein to bring the final score to 6–1.
On Sunday, Jan. 7, the men took to the ice for a matchup against the second conference opponent of the weekend, Trinity. Middlebury fell to the third-ranked Bantams 3–0.
The teams showed an even matchup as neither team was denied all opportunities to reach the scoreboard until the third period. Klein once again was a major contributor to the scoreless first two periods, as he was able to reject all of the 13 slaps Trinity sent his way within the first 20 minutes. He closed out the match refusing 39 shots, while Bantam goalie left with 18 stops.
All was silent on the rink until visiting team’s Dylan Healey pelted the puck past Klein in the first breaths of the third stanza. Barclay Gammill doubled Trinity’s lead to promise them a win of 3–0 over their Nescac foe.
The Panthers had their most recent competition this past Friday, Jan. 12 on Kenyon Arena against Plattsburgh State. With winter break now over, the Panthers had a chance to show off their skills to their classmates in the stands. But, the Panthers could not deliver as the visitors stole the win from them 3–2.
Vincent Gisonti ’18 swiped a rebound past the Plattsburgh goalie to give the Panthers an early lead within the first six minutes. After just 50 seconds, visiting Mike Falanga returned the favor as he took advantage of a rebound and swiped a shot past Klein. Both teams collected two more goals in the first stanza, entering the second with a tie of 2–2. At the 11:57 mark in the middle period, Andrew Pizzo netted the deciding goal of the competition. Both teams would hold scoreless for the remaining time periods, and Plattsburgh would come out over the Panthers 3–2.
On Tuesday, Jan. 16, Middlebury fell at home to No. 10 Norwich 5–1. With the score tied at 1, the Cadets scored four unanswered goals to skate past the Panthers. Connor Lloyd ’20 scored Middlebury’s lone goal in the first period, the first goal of his Panther career.
The Panthers have showed signs that they are capable of beating top-notch competition. Look no further than their 4–3 victory of Oswego State.
Next up the 3–11 Panthers head to Waterville, Maine, to take on Colby tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
(12/07/17 12:08am)
The men’s hockey team journeyed to their first away matchups of the season last weekend. The Panthers were taken out by conference rival Conn. College by a score of 5–0 on Friday, Dec 1. But, the young team finally notched a “W,” coming out on top over Tufts 2–0 on Saturday, Dec. 2. This victory over the Jumbos gives Middlebury some life and provides them with a bit of momentum to work with this weekend when they hit the road again.
On Friday, the Panthers were humbled by the Camels in their first away game of the year. The Camels capsized the Panther defense throughout the first stanza, slapping the puck past the Middlebury goalie twice. The first goal, at the five minute mark, was tallied after Bryan Ackil tipped in a perfect assist from Kevin Doyle. The hosts climbed to a two score lead when Chris Jellison created his own opportunity and was able to net a clean shot past the Panther goalie.
Middlebury’s offense only trailed the Camels by six shots on goal. But, the Conn. College goalie closed out a tremendous effort, rejecting all 28 of Middlebury’s shots on goal, giving the hosts their first shutout of the season.
The second period of the battle sealed out the game for the Camels. They recorded three more goals to their total, while denying the Panthers any opportunity to show up on the scoreboard. The Camels’ last goal was won off of a power play approaching the 20th minute of the sequence. This would cap off the final score, stopping the Panthers’ bleeding at 5–0.
But, the weekend was far from over for a Middlebury team eager for a triumph. Their hopes were realized on Saturday as the team headed to Medford, skating to a 2–0 win over Tufts.
Stephen Klein ’18 played a major role in the Panthers’ rewarding Saturday. Klein stood his ground and claimed his ninth career shutout, refusing all 37 of the Jumbos’ shots on goal.
Klein reflected on the team’s first successful conquest.
“It feels great to get our first win this season,” said Klein. “We had high expectations coming into the year and after a disappointing start it is really nice to have that weight lifted off our shoulders.”
The Panthers got the edge early on when they netted the puck just moments into the first stanza. Vincent Gisonti ’18 wasted no time closing out a rebound for his first goal of the season. After 12 minutes, Middlebury doubled its lead when Jimmy McKee ’19 recorded a shorthanded goal. McKee eased past the Jumbo defense and finished off a stellar assist from Alex Heinritz ’21, logging his first goal of the season.
The score held up and in a last desperate gasp as the clock wound down, Tufts pulled its goalie, Drew Hotte.
Middlebury’s defense proved impenetrable as they held on tight to preserve the shutout.
Both teams had multiple scoring opportunities in the second two periods, but neither was able to capitalize on them. This was apparent by the fact that both the Jumbos and Panthers went 0–3 on power play opportunities.
“The win definitely gives us the momentum we need to turn our season around,” said Klein. “Breaking out of a losing streak is never easy and finding a way to win came at a very critical point in our season. I have a lot of confidence in all the guys and I think we can be very successful moving forward.”
Hopefully, confidence is on their side as they venture out of Vermont once again this weekend to continue competition against conference opponents. The will face Hamilton tomorrow night and head on to Amherst’s Orr Rink Saturday afternoon.
(11/30/17 12:17am)
The second-ranked women’s field hockey prepared to rush the field as the final seconds of the second half counted down, giving them their third national championship in program history. The Panthers cruised past No. 1 and previously undefeated Messiah College of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 4–0 on Sunday, Nov. 19 in Louisville, Kentucky, snapping Messiah’s 44-game win streak. Middlebury earned its spot in the Finals after their Final Four triumph over 10th-ranked Franklin & Marshall 2–1 on Friday, Nov. 17, with Annie Leonard ’18’s game-winning goal in overtime.
The semifinal game was scoreless on the field of Bellarmine University until late in the first period. The Panthers finally broke through in the 24th minute when Grace Jennings ’19 made her presence known. Off of an Erin Nicholas ’21 pass, Julia Richards ’20 crossed the ball into the goal area that Jennings deflected to the back of the net. [Coincidentally, in the DIII field hockey version of the Har-Bowl, Nicholas’ sister Michaela was across the field opposing her on the Diplomats, making it a special day for the Nicholas family.]
The 1–0 lead the Jennings goal gave the Panthers would hold going into the half.
The Diplomats started off the second 35 minutes on the attack, penetrating the Panthers’ half from the first whistle.
25 seconds in, Franklin & Marshall’s Annie Horsley was awarded a penalty shot which she converted to even the score at 1. The Diplomats were unable to keep up the pressure though, and the Panthers managed to survive the subsequent 34 minutes that were relatively even. The score remained knotted at 1 as the time expired in regulation.
Middlebury wasted no time in determining which team was headed to the finals. With just over half a minute played in the sudden-death overtime period, Leonard slapped in the golden goal to earn the Panthers a spot in the championship.
Leonard’s goal was impressive. She grabbed the ball in mid-air off of a deflection from a Diplomat defender and found an opening in the upper right side of the goal, giving the Panthers a chance to win their second national title in three years.
On Sunday, the Panthers faced a daunting task in the previously undefeated defending national champions in Messiah. Not only did the Falcons have a 44-game win streak dating back to last season, that streak included a win in the 2016 Regional Final over Middlebury.
The final was played at the University of Louisville on a crisp early evening in Trager Stadium. But, the Panthers were confident, having won their last 15 games. And, they had been here before, besting Bowdoin for the title in 2015.
Jennings commented on the team’s previous matchup with Messiah the year before.
“We knew this year was totally different: they were a different team and so were we but we naturally carried a chip on our shoulder for our seniors last year,” said Jennings. “Obviously winning a national championship is great but beating a team that you only get to play in the playoffs and avenging the last game does make the win that much better.”
Messiah almost had the Panthers in a hole early on, forcing Middlebury to shut down a penalty corner opportunity with just under six minutes gone in the battle. Less than five minutes later, Middlebury struck first. Kelly Coyle ’20 skillfully grabbed the rebound off of a shot from Friday’s hero, Leonard, and hammered it past the Falcon goalie to give the Panthers the lead.
To the surprise of the confident Messiah contingent that the Falcon’s section of the stands, Jennings increased the Panthers total to two less than four minutes later after she intercepted an errant Messiah pass. Middlebury the rattled the Falcons even further, with yet another point less than five minutes later when Richards artfully slipped a ball past the Messiah goalie to award Middlebury with a three goal lead heading into intermission.
Richards reflected on her momentum-shifting goal in a big-time moment.
“Scoring a goal in this game was an indescribable experience,” said Richards. “Our objective going into the game was to capitalize on any and all opportunities, and I’m so happy that I was able to contribute.”
A little more than ten minutes into the second stanza, Messiah almost broke the shutout, but their shot was denied.
Middlebury registered its fourth and final goal with under 21 minutes remaining in the match, when Audrey Quirk ’18 shot the ball to the left side of the goalie.
The 4–0 shut-out held as time ran out, marking the first time that Messiah had been shutout since 2015 (58 games).
Abby Furdak ’21 stopped six shots on goal, en route to her seventh shutout of the season.
“Coach DeLorenzo is an absolute magician when it comes to field hockey, and she created layers with our line up to play to everyone’s strengths,” said Jennings. “What makes teams great is when everyone has a different role due to their strengths, and when they are playing to their strengths they are complementing those of another teammate. Coach DeLorenzo understood this better than anyone and cooked up a national championship team out of the ingredients she had.”
Lauren Schweppe ’18 was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, while Jennings, Furdak, and Leonard claimed all-tournament team recognition.
Not only were Middlebury’s four goals the most ever for the Panthers in the championship game, but the margin of victory was also the greatest ever in an NCAA DIII Final.
(11/30/17 12:09am)
The men’s hockey season is in full swing, with four games under the Panthers’ belts. The Panthers took to the ice on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Kenyon Arena looking to improve on last years run. With an 0–4 start, after their first two weekends of play, the young team is figuring out where it needs work and the pace of Nescac play.
The Panthers dropped the season opener to Colby falling 9–1. Saturday they tightened up their play and challenged Bowdoin in a 2–0 loss.
On Nov. 18, in the season opener, the Mules cruised past the Panthers from the first few minutes of the competition. Colby quickly got to work and broke past the Panther defense. At 2:43 in the opening period, the Mules’ Mike Rudolph found teammate Mario Benicky who tallied the first goal of the contest. Unfortunately for the Panthers, Colby did not take long to double their total within the first five minutes of play as another shot whistled past Panther goalie Stephen Klein ’18.
Less than 20 seconds later, Middlebury’s response came from Brendan Dawson ’20. He kept the Panthers in the game after creating his own opportunity and going the length of the ice for the tally. This cut the Colby lead to one goal as they headed into the second period. Middlebury would be unable to add to their total despite a number of scoring opportunities, including a couple of chances later on in the match.
Building off of momentum, the Mules capitalized on their lead netting three shots past the Panther goalie in the second period. Two of those strikes were on Mule power plays - at the 15:46 and 7:34 marks. The Panthers wasted a golden opportunity in that stanza, failing to score despite having a five on three power play advantage for almost two minutes.
In the last period, Colby continued to exploit a porous Middlebury defense, increasing their advantage by four. Benicky and J.P. Schuhlen each realized a hat trick, which helped to solidify the Mules’ first conference victory of the season.
Klein shared time between the pipes with Brian Ketchabaw ’20 and Henry Cutting ’19. The three netminders had 18, nine, and three saves respectively. Middlebury trailed Colby in shots on goal by 39–23, going a long way to explain the significant score differential.
Trevor Turnbull ’20 reflected on the team’s first appearance.
“I think it was more about execution than strategy,” said Turnbull. “We have a young team that is eager to erase last year’s mistakes, and I think that played against us come game time being that we came out with more nerves than energy.”
These nerves would come up again as Middlebury took to the ice to face Bowdoin the next day on Nov. 19. While the result was not the desired outcome, the Panthers showed a much improved defense that allowed only two goals to the visiting Polar Bears.
Bowdoin, coming off an 8–16–1 season last year, batted the puck past the Panther goalie with 11:43 gone in the first period to capture the early lead. The Panthers had a few opportunities within the first few minutes, but the visitors from Brunswick denied their attempts.
In the second period, the Panthers came to life outshooting the Polar Bears 13–5, but they were unable to capitalize on this significant shot differential.
Bowdoin secured their first triumph of the season with under eight minutes left in the game, when Thomas Dunleavy knocked a rebound past Middlebury.
With under two minutes of play, the Panthers had a power play and were up by two players where they pulled Klein to try to force a goal, and put them on the board. But, Bowdoin’s defense was bulletproof, however, and they were able to maintain their shutout.
The Panthers showed offensive improvement compared to their duel against Colby, by outshooting the Polar Bears 39–27.
“This week we are going to practice keeping our game fast and simple, trying to not do too much with the puck,” said Joey Piccinini ’20 after the opening-weekend thud. “If we are just able to do the little things better, we should see some success in the tournament this weekend.”
While Piccinini’s statement reflected the team’s optimism, it was not enough for the Panthers to come out on top this past weekend against either Lawrence and Norwich. The Panthers kept busy over the break and celebrated Thanksgiving by skating around their home rink at the PrimeLink Great Northern Shootout. The tournament’s contenders included Middlebury, Norwhich, Lawrence, and Plattsburgh State.
The Panthers were knocked out of the main draw with a 6–3 loss to Lawrence, although Middlebury started to show some significant strides as they led 2–1 after one period and were tied half way through the third.
Nonetheless, the Panthers put up a strong fight against Lawrence in Kenyon Arena in the first round. Middlebury came out firing in the first period, with an aggressive offense that the Vikings were not prepared to face. The Panthers wasted no time in penetrating the Lawrence defense, and ultimately found their opportunity.
In the first few minutes, transfer Owen Powers ’20 paved the way for the first goal of the game as he swatted the puck back to Ryan Ashe ’21 after winning a faceoff. It was Michael Fahie ’21 who then found the back of the net and pulled the Panthers ahead. But the Vikings took less than three minutes to respond to the Panthers, equalizing the score. The Panthers proceeded to double their lead when Kamil Tkaczuk ’19 found an opening past the Viking goalie at the 8:59 mark.
Middlebury’s greatest challenge throughout the second period came from numerous penalties. However, the stanza held scoreless until Lawrence was able to breach the Panther defense and climb to 2–2 heading into the final time frame.
With a tie game on the line, the Panthers would have to compete with the intensity they had in the first period in the last 20 minutes.
Three minutes into the last stanza though, Lawrence’s Jake Roeper slid a shot past the Middlebury keeper, lifting them to a one goal advantage. But, the Panthers were able to momentarily erase the Vikings’ lead after Powers skillfully struck a shot past their goalie. This would be Middlebury’s last response to Lawrence, as the Vikings secured their spot in the next round of the tournament slapping back three quick goals past the Middlebury defense and finalizing the total to 6–3.
“The biggest thing for us is tightening up our systems and playing a full 60 minutes,” said Ethan Cohen ’19. “The team we are capable of being has been there in stretches all season, and it was there for much of this weekend.
“Focusing on cutting down on mistakes will get us where we need to be,” Cohen added. “It’s definitely early enough to turn the season around and we believe that we’re capable of doing so.”
Finally, last Saturday Nov. 25, the Panthers looked to take another step forward against the defending national champion, Norwich, in the consolation round. While the Panthers came up short in the tall task, losing 5–1, they had an opportunity to match up in the season’s early going against one of the country’s best.
For the first nine minutes of the matchup, neither team was able to get on the board. It was only off of a power play that Norwich tallied their first goal. Seconds before the 15 minute mark, Fahie tapped in the second goal of his career as a Panther, matching the Cadets’ total and pulling the Panthers even 1–1 with the national champs. Unfortunately, this would be Middlebury’s last scoring play of the tournament.
The Cadets would go on to net four more shots in the last two periods, with no response from the hosts. Middlebury only trailed Norwich 33–27 in shots on goal, but they were not able to capitalize on these opportunities as Cadet goalie Tom Aubrun was stellar, recording 26 saves. Middlebury also failed to exploit three power play opportunities, coming up empty handed on each of them.
Fahie was named to the all-tournament team.
The men’s hockey team will continue to battle for their first victory this weekend against another couple of Nescac rivals. Tomorrow they will be at Connecticut College and Saturday they travel to play at Tufts.
(11/16/17 12:16am)
The second-ranked women’s field hockey team secured their ninth appearance to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four after breezing through last weekend’s competition at Kohn field with a pair of dominant 5–0 victories over the University of New England and Rochester. Sunday’s win over Rochester keeps the Panthers’ hopes alive for a second national title in three years, and extends their winning streak to 14 games.
Looking to build on the previous weekend’s Nescac title, the Panthers started off their NCAA tournament run by shutting out the University of New England on Saturday, Nov. 11, on Kohn Field.
The Panthers came out very strong, breaking past the UNE defense comfortably and scoring all five goals in the first 35 minutes of play. Within the first 10 minutes, Grace Jennings ’19 put Middlebury on the board by ripping a shot past the Nor’easter goalie. The Panthers were able to get a second shot by UNE before the first half came to a close. The hosts got a 2–0 lead after Julia Richards ’20 recorded her first goal of the weekend off a perfectly placed pass from Erin Nicholas ’21.
With a little more than six minutes left in the half, the Panthers buckled down and got to work. The UNE defense was no match for Nicholas, as she moved with ease to knock a goal inside the far post. Annie Leonard ’18 and Lauren Schweppe ’18 extended Middlebury’s lead closing out the first 35 minutes by tallying two more points for the Lady Panthers. This gave the Panthers a five goal lead going into halftime.
In the second half, Middlebury’s defense held strong, denying the Nor’easters an opportunity to get on the scoreboard. They only allowed UNE a single shot throughout the entire period. This victory sent the Panthers to the regional final on Sunday, Nov. 12 on home turf.
“I think a huge part of our team’s success can be attributed to how well prepared we were for the other teams,” said Ali Denby ’20. “Our coach does such a phenomenal job scouting. We knew UNE was going to come out strong and aggressive, so we were prepared to match that energy from the start. This weekend was about playing our game with some adaptations.”
After Saturday’s success, the Panthers refused to back down against Rochester. Even though the first half was scoreless until the last few seconds, Middlebury dominated the field throughout the half taking 12 shots compared to Rochester’s single shot. Richards broke the silence, giving the Panthers a one goal advantage over the Yellow Jackets heading into halftime. Her swing to the right post marks her second goal of the weekend and seventh goal of the season.
It did not take long for Middlebury to double its score. About seven minutes into the second 35 minutes, the Panther offense put pressure on Rochester as Marissa Baker ’20 forced her ninth goal of the season past the Yellow Jacket goalie. The Lady Panthers were not satisfied yet, recording three more points to close out the regional final. In the 52nd minute, Schweppe sent an assist to Audrey Quirk ’18. Nine minutes later, teammate Leonard tucked a shot past the Rochester goalie, and Emma Johns ’20 scored the fifth and final goal of the contest. This win awarded Abby Furdak ’21 her sixth career shutout.
“The teams feeling great after this weekend,” said Richards. “This is exactly where we want to be and we know exactly what we want and why we’re here.”
Middlebury will travel to Louisville, Kentucky to face 10th-ranked Franklin & Marshall in the national semifinal on Friday at 7:00 p.m. The other semifinal matchup includes Messiah and The College of New Jersey. The victors will advance to the championship round that will take place on Sunday.
(11/16/17 12:07am)
The men’s hockey team will be back in action this weekend when they face two of the teams from Maine, Colby and Bowdoin, on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. Coming off a three-win season, the Panthers are hungry for a winning year.
This year’s team enters determined to prove that last season was an anomaly for Middlebury’s historically strong hockey program. Their struggles were largely attributable to the numerous injuries that took many starters out of the lineup, which coincided with their typical hyper-competitive Nescac schedule.
“Even though we did not have the season we wanted to, we really grew as a team,” said Ethan Cohen ’19. “The adversity we faced will only make us stronger going into this season. The largest focus of our team is to continue to build for the future, while also getting Middlebury hockey back into the playoffs and back to its winning ways. We know that in a league as competitive as the Nescac that is never easy, but we have a talented, close knit group that has worked hard all year to prepare for the season.”
The team will have a new look this season and will fresh talent to emerge upfront. The Panthers only graduated three players (Greg Conrad ’17, Andrew Neary ’17 and Travis Stephens ’17), but they were all high-scoring starters that contributed to many of the program’s wins during their tenures. Other contributors who are not returning from last year’s squad, due to injuries and personal reasons, include Zach Weier ’18, Matt Doherty ’19, Spencer Cage ’19 and Danny Jacobs ’20.
The team has a promising incoming class with 10 new faces—nine first-years and one sophomore transfer.
Head coach Neil Sinclair reflected positively on his new group and looks forward to starting anew this season.
“We had a young team last year and we will be young again in 2017-18,” said Sinclair, who added that the influx of new personnel has brought “energy and enthusiasm [which] has helped set the tone for the team in pre-season. We will be counting on our veterans to lead the team in the early going while the new faces get used to the Nescac and stiff competition in the PrimeLink tournament. We expect this to be an energetic and entertaining group.”
The team will be led by three captains: Mark McLellan ’18, Vincenzo Gisonti ’18, and Kamil Tkaczuk ’19.
Key offensive players to watch out for this winter are Gisonti ’18, McLellan ’18, Tkaczuk ’19, Trevor Turnbull ’20 and Mitchell Allen ’20.
“[Gisonti] has the ability to impact every game,” Sinclair said of last season’s leading scorer.
Strong defensemen returning include Jimmy McKee ’19, Frank Cosolito ’20 and David Belluche ’18, and Stephen Klein ’18 will be tending the net again for the Panthers.
Puck-drop is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday evening against Colby.
(11/08/17 5:41pm)
The top-ranked Middlebury women’s field hockey team earned their fifth Nescac championship as they swept Trinity 5–0 at their home turf on Sunday, Nov. 5. This conference win grants them an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Panthers had maintained their winning streak with Saturday’s semifinal matchup against Bowdoin on Kohn Field, earning another appearance in the conference finals with a 5–2 triumph over the Polar Bears.
Annie Leonard ’18 quickly toppled the Bowdoin defense by scoring within the first two minutes of play for her 14th goal of the season. The Panthers did not let their opponents respond before knocking in another shot: Grace Jennings ’21 tallied the second point for the Panthers, scoring off of an assist from Molly Freeman ’19. Bowdoin was unable to respond to Middlebury’s 2–0 lead until almost halfway into the first 35 minutes. Polar Bear Elizabeth Bennewitz ’19 kept her team in the game, putting up the first of two points Bowdoin would score by the end of the game. But before the first half came to a close, Middlebury’s Erin Nicholas ’21 snuck in a goal past the Polar Bear goalie off of an assist from Jennings, giving the Panthers a two–goal lead heading into halftime.
The second half was silent for the first eight minutes until a strong play led to a Bowdoin score and narrowed the Panther lead. This goal only served to reinvigorate the Middlebury offense as Freeman pushed two shots past the Polar Bear goalie. This 5–2 margin would hold and offer the Panthers another chance to fight for the conference championship.
“Our strategy going into this weekend was to just focus on playing field hockey the Middlebury way,” said Sophia Peluso ’20. “We scouted Bowdoin and Trinity, but ultimately we were confident that if we played our game we would come out on top. There was a sense of calm and confidence throughout the entire weekend, it was a really cool thing to be a part of.”
On the afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 5, the Panthers looked to take back the championship that was stolen from them last year. But, this year they would have to defeat the Bantams to get there.
The Panthers quickly got to work, with Freeman getting her team one goal closer to a victory. She demonstrated her knack for scoring swiftly, punching in her third goal of the weekend off of a rebound within the first ten minutes. Five minutes later, Emma Johns ’20 awarded Middlebury their second point of the game. The Panthers were not satisfied with this two goal lead, as Leonard would hammer in two more shots past the Trinity goalie. Middlebury’s defense proved tough, denying the 16th-ranked Bantams an opportunity to get on the board. This gave Middlebury a comfortable 4–0 lead going into the second half, inching them closer to the title.
But, Middlebury refused to stop there. Freeman guaranteed the Panthers the victory, closing out the second half with the fifth and final goal of the game, thanks to the Panther defense and a stellar performance by Abby Furdak ’21 in goal to secure the shutout and a 5–0 win.
As the second half ran out, the Panthers rushed the field to celebrate their fifth conference title and their automatic spot in the DIII NCAA tournament.
Julia Richards ’20 commented on the team’s preparations for the upcoming weekend:
“Because we don’t know which team we’re playing until Wednesday, our strategy is, as always, to continue to focus on the fundamentals — great first touch, accurate passing and all shots on cage — and prepare for the individual team and their tendencies when we know more.”
The tournament will begin this coming weekend with the Panthers battling on Kohn Field in the regional round. Although they are coming off of a successful weekend, the Panthers are not satisfied, and are looking to make history with a third national title within the next few weeks.
(11/01/17 5:31pm)
The second-ranked women’s field hockey team kept their winning streak alive with a 4-1 triumph over Bates this past Saturday, Oct. 28. This victory, their tenth straight, garnered the Panthers a spot in the semifinals of the Nescac tournament next weekend at home against Bowdoin.
Seeded first coming into the conference tournament, the Panthers felt the pressure of being the favorite. But they quickly took control Saturday afternoon, asserting themselves over the Bobcat defense within the first few minutes of the first half.
Middlebury’s offense set the tone for the game when Emma Johns ’20 pulled the Panthers ahead by scoring off an assist from captain Annie Leonard ’18. Both teams created strong opportunities, but only Middlebury was able to capitalize on them: the Panthers continued to surge past Bates as Grace Jennings ’19 scored her first goal of the game, pushing her total to nine for the season.
Meanwhile, the Panther defense continued to dominate, shutting out the Bobcats in the first 35 minutes of play and affording them only a single shot on goal.
“Saturday was a really good game,” said Ally Denby ‘20 afterwards. “Going into the tournament we were the number one seed and Bates was eighth, but I don’t necessarily think that that ranking is indicative of how good of a team they are, and we were by no means guaranteed to win.”
The Bobcats did avoid a shutout, sneaking in a goal almost halfway into the second half to make it a one goal game.
The Panthers, however, did not let up: Jennings responded with her second goal of the afternoon on a breakaway. Intercepting the ball from the half-line, she outran four Bobcats before sliding the ball in past the right post.
But Middlebury was not satisfied with a 3–1 lead, either. Marissa Baker ’20 closed the game out with her eighth goal of the season and tenth of her career on an assist from Isabel Chandler ’21, beating the final buzzer by just a few seconds.
“Next weekend in the semifinals we’re playing Bowdoin, which will also be a really intense game,” said Denby. “We beat them in double overtime in the regular season and we ended their season in the semis last year, so they’ll definitely come out strong. I think to prepare we’re going to be focusing a lot on executing the small details well (like keeping our sticks on the ground and perfecting our press). We also need to make sure that we come out aggressive in the first couple minutes score first like we did for Bates. Momentum is always a huge factor when we play Bowdoin.”
Bowdoin will be visiting Kohn Field at 11:00 this Saturday, Nov. 4. The Panthers can secure an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning both games this weekend (the semifinal victors will meet in the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 5). That being said, their strong season and high national ranking would all but guarantee them a tournament bid should they fall short of a Nescac title.