Middlebury's Lauren Schweppe scored three times, leading the Panther field hockey team to a 4-1 NESCAC road victory Saturday at Colby. Schweppe scored twice in the opening half and completed the hat trick in the second, raising her goal total to five on the season. The win put third-ranked Middlebury at 6-1 overall and 4-1 conference play, while the Mules fell to 2-6 and 1-5 in NESCAC play. Up next for the Panthers is a home non-conference game Tuesday with St. Lawrence at 6:30 p.m.

Schweppe opened the scoring 15:07 converting on a breakaway. She broke clear of the Colby defense at midfield and lifted a shot over a sliding Riley Whitmyer, putting the visitors in front. Annie Leonard made it a two-goal advantage for Middlebury 10 minutes later, tipping home a shot by Grace Jennings, who cut in from the right side and took the initial attempt from the top of the circle.

Colby's Hannah Hearn made it a 2-1 game 2:49 later, but the Panthers had a quick response. Caroline Knapp stopped an insert on a penalty corner from Audrey Quirk, and Schweppe used a hard hit from just inside the top of the circle for her second goal of the game. The tally came just 2:31 after the Mules had scored and gave Middlebury a 3-1 lead with 4:19 left before the halftime break.

Holding a 3-1 cushion at the start of the second stanza, the Panthers cashed in on another penalty corner with the same trio involved. Schweppe finished off the hat trick with 25:28 left in regulation on another hard shot, following an insert by Quirk and a stop by Knapp. 

Middlebury's Emily Miller recorded three saves in 67:45 of action for her 25th career win and Megan Collins added one stop late in the game. Colby's Emily Buckman turned aside five Panther shots, while Whitmyer posted three saves. Middlebury finished with a 22-13 advantage in shots and 10-5 in penalty corners.