The top-ranked Middlebury field hockey team (3-0) downed visiting University of New England (UNE) 5-0 on Sunday.
Erin Nicholas tallied a hat trick during the victory, as the Panthers extended their home win streak to 38 games. Middlebury is idle until Saturday when it hosts #7 Bowdoin at noon, while the Nor'easters (2-2) travel to #12 Babson on Tuesday for a 6:00 p.m. start.
The Panthers opened the scoring at the 7:20 mark of the first quarter when Nicholas one-timed a feed from
Amy Griffin. The Nor'Easters looked to even the game with back-to-back shots from Lindsay Bruns, but Panther goalie
Grace Harlan thwarted both chances. Nicholas intercepted a ball in transition, before dribbling into the circle and tucking the ball inside the left pipe to make it 2-0 with 11:33 expired.
The Panthers held a 13-0 advantage in shots during the second quarter, but were unable to increase the lead as a strong UNE defense held them at bay.
Out of the intermission, the Nor'Easters had a great opportunity to get on the board. Kate Lindmark inserted a penalty corner at the 32:42 mark, Julia Steves worked the ball around the circle to Bruns, but the Middlebury defense was able to clear the ball out. Less than two minutes later, the Panthers increased the lead to 3-0. Nor-Easter goaltender Lindsay Pych denied an initial shot by
Danielle Brown, but
Katie George was there to one-time the rebound into the goal. With 41:24 expired, Nicholas buried the ball in the bottom left corner of the cage after a penalty corner for her third of the game, making it 4-0.
UNE's best chance to cut into the deficit came at the 47:05 mark after a penalty corner. Jillian Lachapelle sent a hard shot towards the Panther goal, but a reaching Harlan denied the chance with a blocker save. With 8:06 remaining in the contest, Middlebury added its fifth and final tally. An initial shot by
Selin Everett hit the right post, before Hannah Medwar snuck the loose ball into the goal for her first career goal.
Harlan (3-0) earned the win in goal for the Panthers, making five stops. Pych (2-2) made 10 stops in the first 45 minutes, while Dawn Deweese-Moss saved on shot in the final quarter for UNE. Middlebury held an advantage in shots (40-6) and penalty corners (11-3) during the win.
