MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – A second-half surge by No. 7 Middlebury was too much for the Skidmore College field hockey team, as the No. 10 Thoroughbreds fell 6-2 to the Panthers, in a battle of top-10 teams at Peter Kohn Field Wednesday night.
Skidmore falls to 5-3, while Middlebury improves to 5-2.
The Panthers got on the board in the first three minutes of a contest between two of the top-10 teams in the latest Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll. Off a penalty corner, Emma Johns' shot was deflected by McGuire into the waiting stick of Molly Freeman, who fired a shot home.
The Panthers doubled the score on another penalty corner. This time, Audrey Quirk passed to Lauren Schweppe, who launched a high shot to beat Skidmore goalkeeper
Zoe McGuire.
Undeterred, Skidmore scored a crucial goal on its second penalty corner opportunity of the game with 1:29 to go in the half.
Gabby Hyman corralled the rebound off a
Meaghan Lynch shot at point blank range, guiding the ball past the goalie.
The Thoroughbreds tied the game early in the second half off another penalty corner. On the attempt, a shot by
Mary Beth Zahnleuter ricocheted off the goalie, with
Sarah Winters picking up the rebound behind Middlebury goalie Abby Furdak to score on an open net in the 44th minute.
The Panthers went back on top in the 49th minute off their seventh penalty corner of the game. A redirected shot by Julia Richards beat McGuire glove side. Three minutes later, Middlebury struck again with a goal on an individual effort by Grace Jennings.
The Panthers tacked their final two goals of the contest five minutes apart, with Freeman scoring her second of the game on a rebound in front of net and Marissa Baker scoring her first of the season off a penalty corner.
The Panthers outshot the Thoroughbreds, 20-6 in the contest. Furdak picked up the victory, making one save in 65:27. McGuire was busy in net, notching eight saves.
The Thoroughbreds return to Liberty League play this Saturday, facing Union in Schenectady at 2 p.m.
