Box Score
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| Hanaa Malik was the goal scorer for the Jumbos against Middlebury |
Parts of this recap courtesy of Bowdoin Sports Information
BRUNSWICK, Maine – The third-seeded Tufts University field hockey team fell to Middlebury in NESCAC semifinals hosted by No. 1 seeded Bowdoin on Saturday afternoon. Rookie Hanaa Malik was the goal scorer for the Jumbos in the set back.
The Panthers (16-1) are in search of their fourth consecutive NESCAC title. Tufts ends the year with an 11-6 overall record after advancing to the conference semifinals as the number three seed. The Jumbos defeated Trinity 2-0 last Saturday to earn their fourth consecutive semifinal appearance.
Tufts pressured Middlebury early as the Jumbos earned four penalty corners in the opening 16 minutes. Senior Dakota Sikes-Keilp blasted drives from the top of the circle but saw all her bids deflected away by Middlebury's fly.
Middlebury responded by converting on its second corner of the game in the 24th minute. Following the insert from Caroline Knapp, Pam Schulman dished a pass to her right for Bridget Instrum. Instrum took a step and fed the ball back to Schulman who connected for Middlebury's first.
Instrum tallied her second assist of the game eight minutes later, feeding Molly Freeman. Carrying the ball down the left side of the circle, Instrum popped a shot into the air. Freeman waited on the far post and connected mid-air to deflect in the Panthers' second of the game with under three minutes remaining in the first half.
Tufts looked the cut Middlebury's lead in half in the final minutes as the Jumbos earned another penalty corner. Junior Elle Chrupcala's shot found its way past Middlebury goalie Emily Miller, but Jillian Green waited on the goal line to deny the late bid.
The Jumbos saw another promising shot turned away by the Middlebury defense as senior tai-captain Maggie Chapman's ball snuck behind Miller but was met by Shannon Hutteman on the goal line.
Annie Leonard accounted for both Middlebury goals in the second half, finding the back of the net 8:01 and 17:18 into the frame. Her first came as she finished off a feed from Grace Jennings in a scrum while the second was a solo effort.
Tufts had one more shot turned away by a defensive save from Green in the final seven minutes, before finally finding the back of the net. With time expired, the Jumbos had one final corner to spoil Middlebury's shutout and successfully converted on Malik's tip at the right corner.
Tufts outshot the Panthers by a 11-10 margin with a 10-7 advantage in corner kicks. Freshman Emily Polinksi ended the day with five saves as Miller made a pair for Middlebury.
The Jumbos will now wait, hoping to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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