MIDDLEBURY, VT – #6 Middlebury scored six of the game's first eight goals and added a 6-0 run early in the second half on its way to a 15-7 home win over #19 Union Tuesday evening on Kohn Field. The Panthers are now 11-1 while Union, which had won eight straight, goes to 9-3.
Middlebury jumped on the scoreboard first when Bridget Instrum fired a bouncing shot into the lower-right corner with 27:30 remaining. A little more than two minutes later, Union's
Maggie Comiskey knotted the score at 1-1 on a free-position goal. The Panthers scored four of the contest's next five tallies over a span of 16:05, including three goals by Laurel Pascal and single scores from Emma McDonagh and Chrissy Ritter for a 6-2 lead with 5:13 left. Union's goal during the stretch was recorded by
Jackie Hagopian at 10:10 on a low shot that just got past the leg of Middlebury goalie Katie Mandigo.
Hagopian brought the Dutchwomen to within four (7-3) nearly three minutes later with her second of the game. The hosts tallied the final two goals of the opening half, as the first one came on a free-position attempt by Casey O'Neill. Mary O'Connell scored with six seconds left, giving the Panthers a five-goal edge (8-3) headed to halftime.
Out of the intermission, Union's
Natalie Sullivan drew the visitors to within four a little less than three minutes into the half. Middlebury rattled off a 5-0 spurt over the next 4:12 of action, highlighted by three goals from Alli Sciarretta and three assists during the run by Chrissy Ritter, for a 13-4 advantage with 23:02 left. The Panthers' fourth goal of the sequence was scored by Instrum.
Susanna Baker tallied the Panthers' sixth-consecutive goal of the half for a 14-4 advantage with 14:25 left, scoring as the hosts were down a player following a yellow card. Hagopian scored her third of the game and 25th of the year on a high shot from the left side, while
Jessica Farland scored twice over the final eight minutes, sandwiched around a goal from Baker for the final 15-7 count.
Pascal led the Panthers with four goals, while Sciarretta finished with three scores. Instrum added two goals and a game-best four draw controls for the hosts, while Ritter had a goal and game-high three assists. Evie Keating finished with game-highs of seven ground balls and five caused turnovers for Middlebury.
Hagopian paced the Dutchwomen with three goals to go along with three ground balls, while Farland tacked on two goals and had a helper.
Kate Kurchena concluded the contest with three draw controls, while
Celia Condrick scooped up four ground balls.
Mandigo (4-1) played the first half for the Panthers, tallying a pair of saves, while Kate Furber logged four stops in the second half.
Jen Hughes (8-2) took her first loss in nine games with 14 saves in 54:47 for Union, while
Hallie Stone played the final 5:13 without recording a save.
The Dutchwomen are at William Smith Saturday for a Liberty League contest at 2 p.m.