The fourth-ranked Middlebury field hockey team bounced back into the win column with a 2-1 triumph at Colby on Saturday afternoon.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Georgianne Defeo tallied the first chance with 5:13 expired. The Panther received a feed and slapped a bid toward the far-right post, but Mules' goalie Ginna Jacoby stepped out to kick the ball away.
• The visitors jumped ahead with 5:05 remaining in the opening quarter. Addie Chandler chased down a loose ball inside the circle and tapped a quick shot that Jacoby got a pad on, but Chandler guided the rebound into the right side of the cage to push Middlebury in front 1-0.
• Christina Sweeney forced Middlebury goalie Izzy Redzic into action with 12:04 elapsed, dialing up an attempt from the right side that thumped off Redzic's left pad before being booted out.
• With 1:26 left in the initial session, Defeo darted down the center of the field before forcing a kick save from Jacoby that landed on the stick of Chandler. The Panther looked across the goal mouth to the right corner, but defender Lily Conway got her stick to the ball just before crossing the goal line for the defensive save.
• Middlebury bolstered its position with 7:41 left before the break. Following the fifth Panther penalty corner of the contest, Tessa Herbst received the insert and passed it to her left. Grace Keefe squeezed her attempt between Jacoby and the left post for the 2-0 advantage.
• Madaket Rzepka freed herself up for a great chance just 30 seconds later when Rzepka snuck in on the back side for a one-on-one chance that Jacoby slid out to smother.
• Redzic made three critical saves late in the second quarter, headlined by a diving stop of Halle Searby at the 24:23 mark.
• Colby sliced the margin to one with 33:47 expired.  Bridget Everett redirected a pass and Maddie Campbell got the final touch into the left corner of the cage, setting the score at 2-1 on the lone shot on goal in the third stanza.
• With 7:41 remaining, Sweeney blasted a try from the edge of the circle that Redzic saved. The goalie denied another Mules' chance at the 52:52 mark, denying a penalty corner blast from Hadley Swenson.
• Jacoby stopped three Middlebury attempts in under a minute to keep the bout close. Hadley Crowther chipped an elevated shot at the 53:44 mark that kicked off Jacoby's thigh before a second attempt bounced off her foot. Keefe received the ball following a penalty corner 49 seconds later, but Jacoby kicked her right foot out just far enough to stop the bid.
• Colby's final chance came following a penalty corner with just 14 seconds remaining. Swenson fired from the top after the insert, but Redzic got her foot to the shot to secure the 2-1 victory.

NOTES

• Chandler added her sixth marker in the win and has now scored in back-to-back contests.
• Keefe netted her fourth goal of the season.
• Herbst distributed her second assist as a Panther.
• Redzic made a career-high seven saves against the Mules.
• The programs battled in the 43rd meeting with Middlebury possessing a 42-1 edge in the all-time series.

Middlebury returns to Peter Kohn Field on Sunday to face #14 Wesleyan at noon.