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FHCelebration25EndicottNCAASecond
Marty Corcoran
The Middlebury field hockey team celebrates its double overtime victory over Endicott in Saturday's second round.
2
Endicott ECFH (21-2)
3
Winner Middlebury MIDFH (14-5)
Endicott ECFH
(21-2)
2
Final
3
Middlebury MIDFH
(14-5)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 F
Endicott ECFH 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
Middlebury MIDFH 0 0 2 0 0 1 3

Game Recap: Field Hockey |

McMichael’s OT Game-Winner Sends #9 Field Hockey Past #8 Endicott 3-2

Claire McMichael scored 3:13 into Saturday's second overtime, lifting the ninth-ranked Middlebury field hockey team to a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind triumph in its postseason rematch against #8 Endicott. The Gulls posted two early goals, but the Panthers fought back to advance to Sunday's regional final in a pod hosted by Johns Hopkins.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
  • The Panthers produced a trio of quality chances early in the first quarter. The best came in quick succession when Gull goalie Faith Minickene used her pads to save back-to-back shots by Emma McCann with 1:30 expired.
  • Endicott took a 1-0 advantage at 3:09 when Maddy Dengler raced down the right side of the field, sending a crossing pass to Abby Antonelli who tucked her bid inside the left post.
  • The Gulls increased their lead to 2-0 with 5:15 remaining following a penalty corner. Reagan Hicks sent a blast toward the left side that Tori Swanson tipped into the left netting.
  • Eliza Cho nearly got Middlebury into the scoring column six minutes later, but Minickene denied the rising attempt with her blocker.
  • The Panthers looked to slice into the deficit in the final minutes, earning a trio of penalty corners. The best opportunity came with 2:47 on the clock when Megan Fuqua ripped a reverse sweep toward the left portion of the net that Minickene saved.
  • The Gulls nearly made it a three-goal advantage 1:37 into the second frame, but goalie Izzy Redzic charged off her line and stuffed a close-range bid by Sabrina Brunet.
  • The blue and white manufactured a great chance with 9:48 elapsed, but a twisting shot from Hadley Crowther was stopped by Minickene to preserve the lead.
  • Middlebury continued to apply pressure in the offensive end over the remainder of the stanza. Crowther manufactured a turnaround bid with 2:54 on the clock that the Gull goalie thwarted with her right pad.
  • Endicott secured a penalty corner one minute into the third stanza, but Redzic used her pads to turn away a bounding shot by Lily Farnham.
  • The Panthers pulled to within one (2-1) on a great individual effort by McMichael. The Panther gathered a loose ball near midfield, raced down the middle, pivoted and laced a shot that tucked inside the right post at 6:33.
  • Middlebury garnered a penalty corner chance with 44 seconds left and the ensuing shot hit a Gull defender on the goal line. Fuqua stepped to the dot on the penalty stroke, burying it in the bottom-left corner to knot the contest at 2-2.
  • The Panthers earned a final chance with a penalty corner with 16 ticks left. The squad worked it around the circle before Minickene sprawled to save a close-range shot from Georgianne Defeo to send the game to overtime.
  • With a minute elapsed in the first extra stanza following a penalty corner, Fuqua fired a quick shot from the left side that Minickene dove to deny. The goalie sprang to her feet and quelled back-to-back attempts by McMichael to keep the contest knotted.
  • After an infraction with 2:30 left in the frame, the Gull goalie extended to her right and saved a penalty stroke chance by Fuqua with her blocker.
  • Emma McNealy blasted a bid following a penalty corner 1:11 into the second overtime stanza, but Minickene laid out to thwart the chance.
  • McMichael sent the Panthers to the regional final with another scintillating effort. She dribbled down the left side into the circle, stepped away from her defender and lifted a backhanded shot over the shoulder of the goalie and a Gull for the final 3-2 triumph.
NOTES
  • McMichael's game-winning tally is her third this season. Her two-goal effort is also a single-game career best.
  • The programs played for the second time this season with Middlebury evening the season series after Endicott won 2-1 in overtime on September 28 in Massachusetts. The match was the fifth all-time matchup and the second in NCAA Tournament action, with Middlebury leading 3-1. The sides squared off in the 2021 second round with the Panthers winning 5-1.
  • The triumph is the 30th-consecutive NCAA victory for Middlebury dating back to the start of the 2017 slate. The squad improves to 63-16 all-time in the national bracket.
  • The overtime marks the 10th contest that the Panthers have played extra time this fall.
Middlebury advances to Sunday's regional final at 1:00 p.m. and will play the host Blue Jays who defeated #22 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) by a 6-0 score in Saturday's first contest.

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