Courtesy of Middlebury Sports Information

MIDDLEBURY, Vt, – The 10th-ranked Amherst College field hockey team fell short to fifth-ranked Middlebury on the road Sunday, 4-1 at Kohn Field.

The Jeffs are now 1-1 overall and 1-1 in the NESCAC following the loss while the Panthers open the season with a 1-0 mark and 1-0 record in league play.

The Panthers got on the board in the first minute. Annie Leonard collected a ball down the right side and sent a pass into the circle toward Pam Schulman. With defenders around her, Schulman sent a nifty one-touch into the bottom left corner of the Amherst goal. Just under three minutes later, Middlebury's Jillian Green dribbled down the right side of the field and made a move toward the middle. Green sent a pass to a streaking Alyssa DiMaio who received it in front of the Jeff goal and calmly tapped the ball in for what proved to be the game-winner.

The hosts kept up the pressure and made the score 3-0 at the 11:38 mark. Schulman sent a laser shot from 10 yards out that Amherst goalie Rachel Tannenbaum '15 padded away. After a scramble in front following the save, Green sent a hard, low shot into the back of the goal. 

Just 41 seconds later, Middlebury's Josie Trichka capped off the Panther scoring with an unassisted goal via a shot from the left side slicing into the middle of the field.

In the 14th minute, Amherst had a pair of scoring chances that were turned away. Madeline Tank '15 laced a shot from the left side six yards out that Panther goalie Emily Knapp denied with her right pad. On the rebound, Caroline Feely '15 collected the ball and immediately took a shot that Knapp again sent back toward the field. 

At the 27:42 mark, Amherst got on the board after drawing a penalty corner. On the insertion pass, Annika Nygren '16 blasted a shot that was redirected in front of the Middlebury goal by Tank for the score.

In the second half, scoring chances were hard to come by as Middlebury hung on for the 4-1 win.

Green paced the Panthers with a goal and an assist, while Schulman produced a game-best five shots. Elizabeth Turnbull '18 led Amherst with four shots in the contest.
           
In goal, Knapp (1-0) collected five saves while allowing just one score in the win. Tannenbaum (1-1) took the loss for Amherst with three goals and one save, while Emily Horwitz '17 entered the game in a relief effort and made four stops with one goal allowed.            

Amherst returns to the field Tuesday, Sept. 9 for its home-opener beginning at 5 p.m.