In three matchups this season against top-ranked Bowdoin College, the Middlebury College field hockey team won only once. But the Panthers’ lone victory against the Polar Bears came when it counted most.

Sandy Miller understood her team’s potential after East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania’s two season-opening wins in September.

The Syracuse University senior trio of Emma Russell, Jess Jecko and Alyssa Manley reached the national semifinals as freshmen. They made the NCAA tournament again as sophomores and lost in the national championship game as juniors. This year, though, they capped stellar careers with a 4-2 NCAA championship victory over the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, on Nov. 22 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Patricia Melton has faced many challenges in her life, but nothing she could not handle. The former Yale University track star and current executive director of New Haven Promise gives back so others can obtain an education and useful professional experience.

Carol Stiff has established herself as a leader in women’s college sports, having worked at ESPN for more than 20 years and helping shape programming and content for espnW. Stiff credits the lessons learned in college sports for her success in life.