Middlebury College

The #2 Middlebury field hockey team churned out a 1-0 victory over #15 Wesleyan through cold and rainy conditions on Sunday in Connecticut.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Claire McMichael collected a pass off a penalty corner in the center of the circle and fired with 1:07 elapsed. Wesleyan crashed toward the goal in time and blocked the shot attempt.
• The Panthers held possession for most of the final 13:53 but were not able to record an attempt as the game remained scoreless after 15 minutes.
• Middlebury turned up the heat with five penalty corner opportunities over 44 seconds beginning at the 42-second mark of the second stanza. Ally Kennedy peppered the Cardinal defense with consecutive shots seconds later, but Wesleyan blocked both chances to keep the visitors off the board.
• With 5:42 elapsed, Megan Fuqua collected a penalty corner insert from Emma McCann and sent a blast at the top of the circle. The ball trickled underneath the pads of goalie Keira O'Flynn, but defender Marley Procopio lowered her stick and redirected the shot for a defensive save.
• Fuqua tried again 43 seconds later with another look that bounced off a Cardinal stick and was steered aside by O'Flynn.
• The hosts tried to cash in following a penalty corner with 7:44 remaining. Natalie Shaw cut to her left and tried to direct a feed toward the post, but McCann came out and stonewalled the pass.
• Wesleyan threatened to take the lead just 43 ticks into the third frame. Leila Feldman cut to the right and blasted a chance that goalie Madeline DiLemme kicked aside.
• Middlebury broke the scoreless contest with 7:31 left. Kennedy stepped up and fired a screamer that snuck past the outstretched right pad of O'Flynn and inside the left post for a 1-0 lead.
• The Cardinals pushed the envelope at the 9:40 mark of the final frame. Feldman blasted a shot that tailed toward the right post. Lily Stockwell lowered her stick for the deflection before DiLemme cleared it away with the flick of her blocker.  
• Middlebury nearly increased its lead in the waning seconds. Hadley Crowther kept the ball in play near the bench and lifted a pass to a darting Addie Chandler. The Panther tipped the ball in the air and fired a shot that looked destined for the right side of the cage. O'Flynn sprawled out and denied the bid with her facemask to finalize the 1-0 decision.

NOTES

• Kennedy found the back of the cage for the third time this season.
• DiLemme made two stops in front of the goal to secure her fourth triumph of the campaign.
• Middlebury earned its 38th in 43 tries against Wesleyan.

The Panthers meet Trinity on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at Peter Kohn Field. The contest serves as the program's senior day.