Middlebury won its sixth straight game as the seventh-ranked Panthers (14-3-1, 11-1-1) earned a 6-1 victory over Hamilton (8-10, 4-7) in Kenyon Arena. Julia Ireland scored her team-leading 11th and 12th goals of the year in the game, giving her nine tallies in her last five contests.
Middlebury took a 1-0 lead on a power play goal from Madeline Joyce at the 13:41 mark of the first period. After a pair of shots were saved, Joyce finished off the rebound from just outside the slot.
Ireland struck twice in the second period, the first at 3:31 as she scored on a rebound from the far side after a shot from Andrea Buono had been saved. Her second came just over three minutes later, converting a quick pass from Lauren Greer for the 3-0 lead.
Middlebury netminder Alexi Bloom kept it a 3-0 game at the 8:00 mark, denying Riley Smith from close-range. The Panthers increased their lead at 12:59, when Grace Waters scored on the doorstep, finishing off a Heidi Woodworth rebound.
Hamilton got on the board with 1:57 left in the period,with Stephanie Miguel redirecting a nice pass from Emily Baxter in transition for her sixth of the year. Middlebury ended the second period with a 5-1 lead when Jamie Harisiades scored cutting to the goal from the right side with a quick shot to the top right corner.
Sara Ugalde scored with a wrister from the left wing for the only goal of the third period to make it a 6-1 final.
Six Middlebury players finished with multiple points, including two helpers each for Heather Marrison and Anna McNally. Bloom finished with 20 saves to earn the win, while Rebecca Hazlett made 29 stops for the Continentals.
Box Score
