The Middlebury field hockey team advanced to the semifinal round for the 12th time in 15 years with a 4-1 win Saturday afternoon in the NESCAC Tournament Quarterfinals over Colby (9-7) on Kohn Field. The second-seeded Panthers (15-1) advance to next Saturday's semifinals at Bowdoin and will meet third-seeded Trinity at 1:30 p.m., while the hosts take on fifth-seeded Tufts at 11:00 a.m. The championship game will be played on Sunday at noon.

The Panthers jumped on the scoreboard in the third minute. Bridget Instrum secured a loose ball in the defensive end and carried it all the way down the right side. She made one touch toward the middle of the field and sent a pass to the stick of Annie Leonard in front of the cage, who calmly tapped it in from two yards out.

Colby's best chance to score in the opening stanza came in the 20th minute. McKayla Blanch dribbled the ball down the right side of the field, sending a low shot that Middlebury goalie Emily Knapp turned away.

Just over six minutes later and possessing a 1-0 lead, Middlebury drew a penalty corner. Alyssa DiMaio inserted the corner to the stick of Anna Kenyon, who stopped it before Shannon Hutteman slapped in a shot from 15 yards away.

The score remained a 2-0 tally in favor of Middlebury into the halftime break. After the intermission, the Panthers added to their lead just under nine minutes in. At the 43:54 mark, Catherine Fowler took a hard shot that was saved by Colby goalie Sarah Evans. The rebound came right back to Fowler, who utilized a reverse sweep shot and put the Panthers up 3-0. Fowler again found the back of the cage at 54:11 with an unassisted tally following a multitude of players in front of the goal. Fowler leads the team and ranks fourth in the NESCAC with 16 goals this fall.    

Colby looked to cut into the Middlebury lead in the 59th minute. Blanch worked down the right side of the field, but Middlebury defender Lily Taub poked the ball away just inside the circle.   

Trailing 4-0 with just under three minutes left, the Mules drew a penalty corner. Misha Strage inserted the corner to the stick of Erin Maguire, who blasted a shot from 20 yards out for the score.

Middlebury held a 22-5 shots advantage in the game and a 9-4 edge in penalty corners. Knapp (15-1) made two saves in goal, while Evans (9-7) tallied 11 stops.