Four Middlebury goals over a 16-minute stretch in the second half, including a hat trick by Annie Leonard, turned a 2-1 halftime advantage into a 6-1 Panther victory Sunday afternoon over Rensselaer on a sun-soaked Kohn Field. The fourth-ranked Panthers (7-1) return to action Tuesday when they travel to St. Lawrence for a 6:30 p.m. start, while the Engineers visit Skidmore on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Middlebury was first to get on the scoreboard in the sixth minute. Grace Jennings worked her way down the right side and had her shot saved by Rensselaer goalkeeper Rachel Kaufman. However, the ball came to rest under her pad, inducing a penalty stroke. Pam Schulman stepped to the dot and sent a shot toward the upper-right corner of the cage at the 5:20 mark for her sixth goal of the season.

The Engineers had a chance to tie the score in the ninth minute, but a would-be opportunity from the left side by Jena Nawfel was saved by the stick of Middlebury goalie Evangeline Dunphy.

A little less than three minutes later, the Panthers looked to double their lead, but a sprawling save to her right by Kaufman denied a shot on an open cage from Molly Freeman. At the 12:34 mark, the hosts went ahead by two when Freeman redirected a shot by Bridget Instrum from the left side.

In the 25th minute, the Engineers cut the Panther advantage in half. Nawfel dribbled down the left side of the field, and made a quick cut to her right across the circle, blasting a shot from six yards away that was tipped in front by Hana Murphy.

The score remained a one-goal edge for the hosts until Freeman started the four-goal run with a tip-in off a pass from Jennings at 42:58. Nearly 11 minutes later, Leonard scored three times in a span of 5:26. She tallied her first of the stretch and fifth of the season when she put back a rebound following her initial shot at 53:32. The second-year Panther found the back of the cage as part of a penalty corner on a nifty pass from Shannon Hutteman after a precise insertion by Anna Kenyon at 55:50, and completed her three-goal spurt with a redirect through defenders on a shot by Susanna Baker at the 58:58 mark.

Rensselaer's best opportunity came in the 67th minute when Mikaela DiBello worked her way behind the Panther defense on the break, but Dunphy turned away the shot with her left pad.

Dunphy picked up her first career victory in her first start for Middlebury with four saves, as the Panthers held a 25-5 advantage in shots and a 5-1 edge in penalty corners. Kaufman was credited with 13 stops for the Engineers.