The top-ranked Middlebury field hockey team (14-0, 9-0) extended its win streak to 22 triumphs with a 4-2 NESCAC victory at #9 Trinity (10-4, 5-4) on Saturday morning. The win marked the fifth against a ranked team this year. The Panthers head to #11 Williams for the regular-season finale on Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. start.
Middlebury got out of the gates quickly, looking to score just 1:18 into the first quarter, but
Erin Nicholas' diving tip-in attempt went just wide right. With 54 seconds remaining in the opening frame, Trinity threatened to take the lead when a Bantam sent a long pass from midfield. India Shay ran on to the breakaway and dove to one-time the ball, but the chance was thwarted by goalie
Grace Harlan.
The Panthers got on the board 2:06 into the second stanza after a penalty corner. An initial shot by Nicholas was denied by a blocker save from Trinity goalie Olivia McMichael, but
Isabel Chandler was there to one-time the rebound for the 1-0 edge.
The Bantams found the equalizer on the third-straight penalty corner attempt. A false start by Middlebury left just three defenders in the cage and Trinity capitalized on the opportunity with Jackie Frank slipping the ball past Harlan to make it 1-1 at the 18:42 mark.
The Panthers responded less than two minutes later.
Grace Murphy carried the ball into the circle before sending a pass to
Katie George. With her back to the goalie, George spun around and found the bottom of the cage to put Middlebury back on top 2-1. The Panthers gained some breathing room at the 22:21 mark when
Amy Griffin rifled a backhanded shot after a penalty corner, increasing the lead to 3-1. Trinity answered, cutting the deficit to one at the 24:40 mark. Katrina Winfield inserted the penalty corner, Kylie Tierney stopped the ball and Christine Taylor fired the ball into the back of the cage to make it 3-2 heading into the break.
Just 1:09 out of the intermission, George tallied her second of the game and 12th overall to make it 4-2. An initial shot by Chandler was saved, but George was there to clean up the rebound into the goal.
The final frame was a defensive battle, with Middlebury holding Trinity to no shots and the Panthers only able to get one shot off during the final 15 minutes.
Middlebury held a commanding advantage in shots (18-4) and penalty corners (11-4). Harlan made two saves during the contest, while McMichael stopped 13 shots for Trinity.
