Greg Conrad scored a hat-trick to lead the Middlebury men's soccer team to 3-1 win over Wesleyan (7-5-2, 5-4) on Saturday. With the victory, the Panthers (8-3-3, 5-2-3) have clinched a NESCAC Quarterfinal home game next Saturday, while the Cardinals end their regular season on Wednesday when they host Connecticut College. Middlebury returns to action on Wednesday at Plymouth State.

Wesleyan came out charging with a couple of great chances to score in the first seven minutes. Just 1:45 into the game, Brandon Sousa took a nice feed in the box and saw his open shot from 12 yards denied by a diving save from Greg Sydor. Five minutes later, Adam Cowie-Haskell found Sousa open from the same spot, but his shot just missed the crossbar and sailed high.

Middlebury's best chance to score came in the 16th minute on a restart. Greg Conrad's blast from 25 yards out on the right side hit the crossbar and bounced into the penalty area. Kirk Horton's follow-up shot was denied by Cardinal keeper Jack Katkavich, as the game remained scoreless.

Wesleyan's Adrian Reifsnyder had a great look from 15 yards out after a corner kick in the 26th minute, but his high shot was denied by Sydor.

Middlebury had the final scoring opportunity of the half with four minutes remaining. Adam Glaser won a race to the ball but his quick flick with the outside of his foot from 18 yards out just missed the top right corner of the net.

Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead 51:18 into the contest. Danny Rubenstein's original shot was saved by Sydor, but the ball squirted away. Cowie-Haskell was there to pounce on the rebound and found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season.

Middlebury tied the game just 4:31 later on a goal from Conrad. A header toward goal was cleared by Wesleyan defender Ben Bratt, before Conrad headed in the rebound with a shot to the left side.

The Panthers took a 2-1 lead at the 66:53 mark when Conrad scored with a quick-one touch into the right corner of the goal. The marker was set-up by a great flip pass over his own head delivered by Glaser.

Middlebury nearly increased its lead in the 74th minute when Tom Dils skyed for a header attempt that hit the cross bar after service from Noah Goss-Woliner on a corner kick.

Wesleyan put on some pressure down the stretch with three-straight corner kicks in the final five minutes, but couldn't score the equalizer.

Conrad completed the hat-trick with just 13 seconds left, breaking in all alone before blasting a shot into the right side of the net to seal the 3-1 victory.

Middlebury finished with a 12-10 edge in shots, while Wesleyan held a 9-3 lead in corner kicks. Sydor finished with five saves for the Panthers, while Katkavich made a pair of stops for the Cardinals.