Box Score

Ewing, NJ… Middlebury College netted two goals in the opening half and then held off The College of New Jersey in the second frame for a 2-1 victory on Sunday in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Regional Championship.

The win puts the 10th-ranked Panthers (16-4) into the NCAA Division III semifinals for the first time since the 2004 season and they will face Salisbury University on Friday, November 16 with Ursinus College serving as the host.

Fifth-ranked TCNJ finished the season with a 17-3 record for the second straight season.

Middlebury opened the scoring 10:24 into the game as they capitalized on a penalty corner. Marnie Rowe (Harwich, MA/Harwich) inserted the ball from the far side of the field to Lacey Farrell (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich Academy) who stopped the ball for Lindsay McBride (Old Greenwich, CT/Greenwich). McBride then sent a low shot through traffic that found its way into the net for a 1-0 Panther lead.

That combination cashed in on another penalty corner with the goal being a mirror image of the first. McBride's second goal of the game came with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half. McBride entered the two regional games at TCNJ with one goal on the season, but scored three times in the pair of wins at Lions' Stadium.

In the second half, TCNJ put the pressure on the Panthers and nearly got on the board as freshman Leigh Mitchell (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) got a shot past Middlebury goalie Caitlin Pentifallo (River Edge, NJ/River Dell), but teammate Katherine Entwisle (Lower Gwynedd, PA/Penn Charter) was there to make the defensive save.

TCNJ did get on the board via a penalty corner as Kelly Mitchell (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) notched her first of the season on assists from Mary Waller (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright) and Jackie Gelinas (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central). That goal came with 2:07 left in the game.

The Lions had several chances to get the equalizer with three more penalty corners as time ran out, but the Panthers were able to withstand that push.

For the game, TCNJ held a 19-6 advantage in penalty corners.


TCNJ goalie Caitlin Gregory (Winslow, NJ/Eastern) made four saves for the Lions, while
Pentifallo recorded seven.