Two Panther Teams Claim NESCAC Titles
Women’s Hockey: Middlebury Beats Amherst 4-1 to Claim NESCAC Championship
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Top-seeded Middlebury scored four unanswered goals, topping visiting Amherst 4-1 on Sunday to claim the 2017 NESCAC Championship along with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The tournament field will be announced on Monday. The title was the ninth for the Panthers (19-6-2) since the tournament began in 2002 and their second straight. Fifth-seeded Amherst finished the season at 14-8-4.
Middlebury, which is ranked sixth nationally, had one of the better early chances to open the scoring less than seven minutes into the contest. A shot from the right point by Anna Zumwinkle got caught up in traffic, but Jessica Young swooped in and swatted the free puck on goal. Amherst goalie Sabrina Dobbins held her ground, making the save to keep the game scoreless. The Purple & White scored first on a play that started in their own zone. Katie Savage carried the puck from her end of the ice and pushed a pass up to Sara Culhane. Culhane fired a shot from the left circle that Panther goalie Julia Neuburger stopped, but Culhane slid in the rebound at the 12:47 mark. Neuburger later kept it a one-goal difference with a nice skate save on a shot by Savage directly off a faceoff.
Men’s Basketball: Middlebury Claims Second-Straight NESCAC Title With Win Over Williams
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury claimed its second-consecutive NESCAC Men’s Basketball Championship and fourth overall with an 84-62 win over sixth-seeded Williams in the title game played at Tufts. The Panthers outscored the Ephs 48-22 in the second half, including a 16-0 run to start the stanza. Second-seeded Middlebury earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will make their eighth trip in the last 10 years when the pairings are announced Monday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. The ninth-ranked Panthers, who enter the NCAA Tournament riding an 11-game winning streak, improve to 24-3 with the win, while Williams falls to 19-8. Middlebury also claimed NESCAC Tournament titles in 2009, 2011 and 2016.
The opening half featured big runs from both teams. Williams pulled out to a 15-5 lead over the first 4:18 of the opening stanza, including five points from Daniel Aronowitz. On Middlebury’s next two possessions, three-point field goals from Jake Brown started a 15-5 run that tied the score at 20-20 with 12:09 left. The spurt was capped by a three from the right wing by Jack Daly.