The top-seeded Middlebury field hockey team (17-0) shutout fourth-seeded Trinity 4-0 on Saturday in a NESCAC Semifinal bout at home. With the victory, the Panthers advance to the NESCAC Championship for the 14th time and will look to defend its 2019 title at noon against third-ranked Bowdoin. Middlebury has won 25-straight contests and have tallied 44 consecutive wins on Kohn Field. The #8 Bantams (12-4) will wait to find out if they earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament when the selection show airs on Sunday evening.
Trinity had a chance for an early lead with 4:45 expired when Molly King carried the ball down the right side of the field, before sending the ball across the circle, but there was no one there to attempt a one-timer.
Katie George looked to open the scoring just 30 seconds later when she worked the ball into the circle, but Bantam goalie Olivia McMichael came charging off her line to deny the shot and keep the game scoreless.
Middlebury took advantage of an extra player situation, scoring just 17 seconds after a green card was awarded to Trinity in the second quarter.
Grace Murphy dribbled the ball around the right side of the circle to the baseline, before sending a pass to
Meg Fearey in the middle. Fearey backhanded the ball into the back of the cage at the 19:10 mark, giving the Panthers a 1-0 edge.
Middlebury continued pressure in the offense end, making it 2-0 with 23:33 on the clock.
Isabel Chandler inserted a penalty corner, before
Amy Griffin stopped the insert and rifled a shot into the bottom right corner for the two-goal cushion.
The Bantams set up a nice penalty corner at the 26:39 mark, but a strong Panther defense denied a shot to preserve the 2-0 advantage heading into the intermission.
Out of the break, Middlebury increased its lead to 3-0 with 39:44 expired. An initial shot by
Joan Vera after a peanlty corner was denied by McMichael, but
Audrey Lazar was there to one-time the rebound into the goal.
The Panthers scored their fourth and final goal at the 53:50 mark. Chandler inserted a penalty corner to Griffin who sent the ball back to Chandler, before
Sadie LeStage redirected the attempt to make it 4-0.
Middlebury dominated on both offense and defense, taking 15 shots and denying Trinity a single shot off during 60 minutes of play. The Panthers held a 9-1 advantage in corners.
Grace Harlan earned the win in goal for Middlebury, while McMichael made six saves during the contest.
