Edition III - November 18th, 2003

Sports Covered:

• Field Hockey
• Cross Country

For the third time in school history, the Middlebury College field hockey team has advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers earned the right with a 5-1 win over defending NCAA Champion Rowan in a quarterfinal match-up in Middlebury. The '98 NCAA Champions also advanced to the semifinals in '94, while they remain the only undefeated team in the nation with a school-record 18-0 mark. The Championship will take place next Friday and Saturday at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania. Middlebury will meet Cortland State in one match-up at 11:00, while Salisbury takes on. The College of New Jersey in the other semifinal at 2:00.

Senior Abigail Lamb (Mendham, N.J.) opened the scoring for Middlebury as she put in her own rebound after her first shot deflected off the post. Rowan answered the goal as Sarah Wood tipped in Rhonda Bennett's shot from the outside after a penalty corner at 19:15. The game remained at 1-1 until the 8:57 mark when senior Char Glessner (Ipswich, Mass.) poked home a rebound after a scramble just outside the goalmouth. The Panthers had a great chance to increase the lead at 6:40, but sophomore Ashley Lyddane's (Greenwich, Conn.) shot was stopped with a nice pad save from Christine Buteas, who had come out to cut off the angle. Middlebury's first-year player Meg McGillen (Harwich, Mass.) answered the save with a pad save of her own on a great opportunity for Beth Raliegh just one-minute later. Lamb did give the Panthers a 3-1 lead with just 1:48 left in the half, as she was able to get one past Buteas after a pair of shots from just in front of the cage.

In the second half, Middlebury gained a comfortable lead just 2:29 into the half as Lamb took a high pass from senior Missy Krempa (Johnstown, N.Y.) before blasting a shot in from 30 feet away to make it a 4-1 game on her third goal of the contest. The game settled down at that point with neither team really having any great chances to score until the Panthers scored the game's final tally with 6:42 remaining. Senior Keely Murphy (St. Louis, Mo.) earned the goal as she scored with an outside shot after a nice crossing pass from junior Ashley Pullen (Oakland, Maine), to make it a 5-1 final. Both McGillen of Middlebury and Buteas of Rowan each made five saves on the afternoon.

In the semifinal win over Montclair State, Middlebury opened the scoring with 23:57 left in the first half as senior defender Becca Brakeley (Middlebury, Vt.) found the cage on a third shot from the Panther offense down low. Glessner increased the lead to 2-0 at the 13:45 mark with a goal following a scramble in the goalmouth. The Panthers continued to control play for the remainder of the first half, holding a 16-1 shots advantage heading into the break.

The Red Hawks got on the board 6:47 into the second half with a goal from Sarah Levin. The goal came after McGillen had made one save before the rebound came right back to Levin who slid it into the open net. The tally ended a 367-minute scoreless streak from the Panther defense. Montclair gained momentum for the game's next five minutes, but could not score the equalizer. Danielle Picinich may have had the best chance to tie the game with 14:00 left, but McGillen made a nice pad save to preserve the lead. Middlebury gained some breathing room at 9:46 with a goal from Lamb on a penalty corner. Lyddane sent the ball to junior Lauren Nicasio (Rowayton, Conn.), who stopped it, before Lamb ripped home the shot. The Red Hawks came back late in the game as Megan Ulicny took a feed from Lea Smith and snapped a shot from the left wing. Brakeley went down to stop the shot for Middlebury but it deflected off her stick and into the goal to cut the lead to 3-2. Montclair would have one more chance as the game ended on an unsuccessful penalty corner. McGillen ended the game with five saves for Middlebury, while Trisha Winkle made 16 saves for Montclair. The Panthers outshot the Red Hawks 26-7 in the contest, while holding an 11-6 advantage on penalty corners.

* Field hockey record: 18-0
* Up next: 11/21 vs. Cortland - 11:00 (NCAA semifinal at Lebanon Valley in Pa.)
if win, 11/22 - NCAA Championship - 1:00

Top 

The Middlebury College women's cross country team remained in the hunt for a third NCAA title as they captured the NCAA Regional meet hosted by Southern Maine. The Panthers won by a sizeable margin with 51 points, followed by Williams with 77 along with Amherst and Trinity with 113. Middlebury has had an impressive five-year run, having won the title in '00 and '01, while placing second in '99 and '02.

Junior Jessica Manzer (Palatine Bridge, N.Y.) led the Panthers in the race as she finished fourth with a time of 22:18, 27 seconds off the winning pace. Placing eighth and nine with the same time of 22:39 were senior Molly Yazwinski (Deerfield, Mass.) and first-year racer Erin Archard (Vienna, Maine). Rookie Andrea Giddings (S. Portland, Maine) placed 13th with a time of 22:46, followed by junior Marisa Cawley (Bennington, N.H.) in 17th place with a time of 23:00.

The men's squad placed 12th in the 38-team race, led by junior Nick Digani (Northfield, Ill.) in 52nd place with a time of 27:30. Sophomore Garrott Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.) finished 60th in the race in 27:43, followed by first-year racer Will McDonough (Lancaster, N.H.) in 76 with a time of 28:02. Rounding out Middlebury's scorers were senior Marshall Greene (Spokane, Wash.) in 90th place (28:14) and rookie Sean Lena (Orono, Maine) in 102nd (28:29)

* Up next: 11/22 @ NCAA Championship (Hanover College of Indiana)

Top 

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE SPORTS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB: http://www.gomidd.com