Middlebury will make its second consecutive trip to the NCAA semifinals after a 5-1 win over Cortland State in the regional final on Kohn Field. The Panthers have now won 36 of 38 games as they enter next weekend's semifinal match-up with Messiah. The game will take place at either 2:00 or 5:00 p.m. on the campus of Westfield State College in Massachusetts. Salisbury meets William Smith in the early game at 2:00 p.m.
Middlebury opened the scoring at 23:04 as Reid Berrien drew Cortland keeper Jessica Anderson out of the cage. Berrien then slid a quick pass to Ashley Lyddane on the far post, who tapped it in for the 1-0 lead. The Panthers continued the pressure, with several players having good looks at the goal. Anderson kept it a one goal game with several good saves, including a pair on Allison Smith with 9:33 left in the half. Smith was able to solve Anderson with 6:20 left in the half as she scored with a hard low shot to the corner on a rebound. Cortland battled back late in the half with some pressure, including a pair of tough shots by Beck Osier that were stopped by Meghan McGillen at the 4:51 and 1:25 marks.
Middlebury and Cortland played a bit more evenly in the early goings of the second half, both with some opportunities to score. Anderson denied Smith with a lunging save at 32:30, before McGillen made a diving deflection on Osier with 29:30 left to play. Berrien gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead, as she put in a rebound on the doorstep after a shot from Nina Daugherty. Cortland answered just 1:24 later as Judy Slopnick tapped in a shot from the far post after a nice crossing pass from Osier. Leading 3-1, Channing Weymouth converted a penalty stroke with a low hard shot to the right side to make it a 4-1 game with 2:22 left to play. Berrien scored her second of the game with a rocket from the outside with just 1:19 remaining.
McGillen ended the game with nine saves for Middlebury, while Anderson made 18 saves for Cortland State. The Panthers held a 40-16 shots advantage in the game and a 13-7 edge in penalty corners.
