Middlebury cruised to a 5-1 win over Manhattanville in the first round of the NCAA Division III field hockey tournament on a cold and rainy afternoon on Kohn Field. The Panthers advance to Bowdoin to take on Springfield Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The regional final is slated for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Manhattanville, who was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance, ends its season at 13-10.

Middlebury took a 1-0 lead at the 26:16 mark when Channing Weymouth's high shot was saved by Lauren Gagnon. Nina Daugherty jumped on the rebound and scored to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Daugherty struck again at 21:03 when she converted a nice feed from Allison Smith. The game remained at 2-0 until halftime, where Middlebury entered the locker room with a 13-0 shots advantage.

Manhattanville had a great chance to score two minutes into the half, but Meghan McGillen stacked her pads and made a big save on Alissa Tyghter. Just 30 seconds later, Weymouth carried the ball 20 yards before scoring to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead. Janie Mackey made it a 3-0 game with 18:30 remaining as she scored with a reverse stick move driving to the goal. Emily Read scored Middlebury's final goal less than two minutes later as she deflected in a centering pass from Mackey.

The Valiants had another solid opportunity with 14 minutes to go as Jennifer Paonessa broke in and dribbled around McGillen, giving her an open look at the cage. Her shot was on target, but quickly brushed aside with a great defensive save by Whitney Boglioli. Manhattanville did get on the scoreboard with 9:28 remaining as Paonessa scored on a feed from Jessie Grasso on a penalty corner.

Middlebury ended the contest with a 32-5 shots advantage and an 11-1 lead in penalty corners. Gagnon was impressive in goal for Manhattanville, making 19 stops on the afternoon. McGillen ended the game with three saves, while Caitlin Pentifallo made no saves in 6:29 of action.