Middlebury closed the game on a 4-0 run on its way to a 9-8 come-from-behind victory over Amherst (9-7) in a NESCAC Quarterfinal game played on Kohn Field. The second-seeded Panthers (13-2) will meet third-seeded Bowdoin next Saturday at top-ranked Trinity, while the host school will battle fifth-seeded Tufts. The game was remarkably similar to the regular season contest on March 28th, when the host Panthers broke a 5-5 tie by scoring four straight in a 9-5 victory.          

Mary O'Connell gave third-ranked Middlebury a 1-0 lead, picking up a ground ball and scoring on a rebound at the 25:11 mark. Amherst answered with a pair before Megan Griffin cut to the goal and converted a feed from Katie Ritter to make it a 2-2 game with 16:32 remaining in the first half.

Mia Haughton of Amherst converted a free position with a shot to the top-right corner to give her team the advantage, before a transition pass from Rachel Passarelli to Claire Cagnassola gave the Jeffs a 4-2 lead with 5:42 on the clock.

Middlebury answered just 30 seconds later when Hollis Perticone won a draw and later found Laurel Pascal for the tally. Less than a minute later, Ritter tied the game with a nice shot cutting to the goal. Middlebury took its first lead (5-4) since the opening goal when Perticone made a nice individual move to score with 3:08 left in the first half.

Amherst scored on its first four possessions of the second half to take an 8-5 lead. Middlebury had only two possessions in that time, with Amherst keeper Christy Forrest making a pair of saves. Sarah Spector scored the first goal of the half at 26:57 with a nifty shot cutting across the goal, before Priscilla Tyler scored on a quick-stick goal with a feed from Haughton. Passarelli found Cagnassola cutting to the goal for their second connection of the game, while Passarelli scored a goal of her own on a free position to end the four-goal run.

Ritter ended Middlebury's scoring drought at the 16:31 mark, scoring on a cutting move to the goal to make it an 8-6 game with 16:31 remaining. Amherst won the draw, but turned the ball over, as Alli Sciarretta converted a free position to bring her team within one with 11:53 left.

Pascal won the draw, as Perticone tied the game just over a minute later, taking a feed from Griffin and scoring with a spin move near the crease to make it 8-8.

Catherine Fowler won the ensuing draw, but a shot from Perticone was saved. Amherst suffered its first failed clearing attempt of the game, and Perticone made it count as she made a great move and fired a quick shot past Forrest for the 9-8 lead with 7:56 remaining.

Amherst won the draw and had a pair of shots, but could not convert. Middlebury cleared the ball with 5:03 remaining and took about 2:30 off the clock before committing a turnover. The Jeffs had the ball in the attack zone for the final 2:06 of the game following a timeout. The Panther defense stood tall, blocking the first shot attempt before a couple of free position attempts from bad angles were passed up. The Jeffs got a pair of good looks in the final seconds, but both shots missed the cage as Middlebury held on for the win.

Pascal, Fowler and Perticone each had three draw controls as Middlebury held a 13-6 advantage in a possession game. Perticone finished with a career-best three tallies and one assist, Ritter scored twice with a helper, while Griffin finished with one of each. Ritter caused a pair of turnovers in the game as Madeleine Kinker made six saves to earn the win.

Passarelli had two goals and two assists to pace Amherst, Haughton finished with a goal and two helpers, while Cagnassola and Spector each scored twice. Cagnassola grabbed three draw controls in the game, while Meghan Mills had a pair. Forrest finished the contest with seven saves.