MIDDLEBURY — The No. 8 Middlebury Union High School field hockey team rallied to win a first-round Division I playoff game on Wednesday before falling to No. 1 Essex on Saturday.
On, Wednesday, the Tigers topped visiting No. 9 Mount Mansfield, 3-2. The victory was the Tigers’ first at home this fall, and it avenged a 6-1 loss at MMU when the Tigers were without two injured starters. MUHS improved to 4-7-3, while MMU fell to 4-7-1. The Tigers held edges of 8-5 in shots on goal and 12-7 in penalty corners.
MMU took the lead in the second minute on the first of two Hattie Hevrin goals. At 16:40 of the second half, Sara Kelley made it 1-1 by poking home a loose ball in a scramble created by senior Kiera Kirkaldy’s serve on a restart. Senior Paige Viens swept in a feed by senior Kate Knowles at 5:31 to make it 2-1, and Knowles made it 3-1 at 3:54 after taking a Viens injection on a penalty corner. Hevrin scored at 0:08 for MMU.
Tiger goalie Baily Ryan made four saves, and the Tigers’ fourth senior, Jess Brisson, had a strong game on defense.
On Saturday, host Essex turned back the Tigers to improve to 11-1-3 with a 3-0 victory. It was the Hornets’ seventh straight shutout; they have surrendered just one goal in their past 12 games. Essex led by just 1-0 at the half, and its third goal came in the final seconds. Ryan was credited with 21 saves for MUHS.