Middlebury tops Ephs, 7-1, and will meet again Sunday in NESCAC Quarterfinals
MIDDLEBURY, VT. -- Despite matching the Panthers (11-3, 6-3 NESCAC) in shot attempts throughout the competition Friday afternoon, the Ephs (5-9, 5-4 NESCAC) couldn’t prevent Middlebury’s potent offense from finishing in the circle resulting in a 7-1 victory for the Panthers. The matchup was the final regular season game in NESCAC, but number 4 Middlebury will host their quarterfinal competition against number 5 Williams this Sunday at 1:00 PM giving the Ephs a second chance at the Panthers.
Middlebury first-year Lauren Greer scored the first two goals of the afternoon gaining a 2-0 head-start for the Panthers a little over 10 minutes into the game. The second goal was assisted by senior Heather McCormick. At 25:50 Sally Ryan received a pass from Chase Delano and hit the net to tally a third goal for the Panthers, followed by a goal by McCormick from Greer less than five minutes later. Middlebury earned their fifth and final goal for the first frame when Allison Grant fed Ryan across the circle for a shot and make.
The second period echoed much of the first as Middlebury scored
4:50 into the half with Delano finishing inside the circle off a
tip from Charlotte Gardiner in transition. 50:43 into the
competition, Hanna Clarke scored the Panther’s seventh and
final goal off an assist by Logan Brown.
Williams prevented the shut-out at 59:58 when first-year Nicolle
Perry (Yorktown, NY) knocked in a deflected shot from junior Alice
Bearn (Bethlehem, PA).
Both teams tallied 15 shots for the game. Eph Junior goalie
Katrina Tulla had 2 saves, while Panther goalie Becca Shaw had 6
saves for the afternoon.
“All in all we played hard and came out even in shots with Middlebury,” commented Coach Alix Burrale, “but they have a potent offense that had a little a more precision today, and capitalized on our weaknesses.”
All Quarterfinal competitions for NESCAC will happen this Sunday at 1:00 PM: Number one-seeded Trinity will host Connecticut, Tufts will host Wesleyan, and Amherst will host Bowdoin, while Williams returns to Middlebury.
FIELD HOCKEY FINAL STANDINGS
Trinity (8-1) *
Tufts (8-1) *
Amherst (6-3) #
Middlebury (6-3) #
Williams (5-4)
Bowdoin (4-5)
Wesleyan (3-6) ^
Connecticut College (3-6) ^
Colby (2-7)
Bates (0-9)
TIEBREAKERS
* Trinity and Tufts both finished with identical conference
records of 8-1. In head-to-head competition, Trinity defeated
Tufts to earn the No. 1 seed.
# Amherst and Middlebury both finished with identical conference
records of 6-3. In head-to-head competition, Amherst defeated
Middlebury to earn the No. 3 seed.
^ Wesleyan and Connecticut College both finished with identical
conference records of 3-6. In head-to-head competition,
Wesleyan defeated Connecticut College to earn the No. 7 seed.
2009 NESCAC FIELD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, November 1 at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinal Games
No. 8 Connecticut College at No. 1 Trinity – 1:00 pm
No. 7 Wesleyan at No. 2 Tufts – 1:00 pm
No. 6 Bowdoin at No. 3 Amherst – 1:00 pm
No. 5 Williams at No. 4 Middlebury – 1:00 pm
Saturday, November 7 at Highest Remaining
Seed
Semifinals – games at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Highest remaining seed vs. lowest remaining seed
Remaining first round winners
Sunday, November 8
Final - 12:00 pm
Semifinal winner
