A goal in the 88th minute from Middlebury's Carter Talgo gave Middlebury a 3-2 victory Saturday on a windy Dragone Field over Wesleyan on Senior Day. With the win, the Panthers (9-6, 5-5) clinched a playoff spot in next weekend's NESCAC Quarterfinal and will await their opponent, while the Cardinals (1-11-2, 0-8-1) complete their regular season on Tuesday when they host Connecticut College.

The Cardinals grabbed the early momentum with the wind at their back, firing a couple of shots toward the Middlebury goal in the opening minutes. Middlebury slowly took control and had a great scoring chance denied in the 20th minute. Following a corner kick, Hannah Robinson settled a ball on the right side about 15 yards away. She blasted a shot that was turned away by a Cardinal player on the near post and kept the match scoreless.

The momentum changed just under two minutes later at the 21:11 mark. Wesleyan's Madeline Keane sent a cross from the right side that was held up by the wind. The ball bounced and settled at the feet of Sarah Sylla, who tapped it in on the far post from a few yards away.

Trailing by one, Middlebury turned up the pressure and tied the match in the 33rd minute. Jamie Soroka dribbled down the right side of the pitch and nearly lost the ball over the goal line. However, she saved it and sent a cross to the feet of Robinson, who booted the ball in from three yards out on the near post at 32:36. The match remained tied at 1-1 headed into the halftime break.

Following the intermission, the teams changed ends and Middlebury gained the advantage with the wind at its back. However, in the 66th minute, Wesleyan induced a foul in the penalty box. Marisa Yang stepped up to the dot and blasted a shot to the right side of the goal on a penalty kick, just past Middlebury goalie Emily Eslinger's outstretched hand to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

That advantage lasted just 34 seconds as Middlebury tied the match at 65:42. Following a Wesleyan turnover in its defensive end, Katherine Hobbs gathered the ball and sent a nifty through ball to the feet of Soroka. She made one quick move and lofted the ball over the hand of Wesleyan goalie Rachel Hobert, knotting the score at 2-2 with just under 25 minutes left in regulation.

The match stayed 2-2 until the final three minutes. With much of action happening in the Middlebury offensive end, Soroka took a shot from 10 yards on the left that hit the far post and caromed back to her feet. She quickly took another shot just outside the goal that was redirected in off Talgo's thigh for the eventual game-winning goal.

Eslinger was credited with three saves for the Panthers, while Hobert also had three stops.

The Panthers owned a 24-7 edge in the shot category along with a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.