The Middlebury women's soccer team scored three goals late in the second half for a 3-0 NESCAC win Saturday over Bates, extending its winning streak to eight-straight matches. The Panthers also secured a home NESCAC quarterfinal match next Saturday. The victory moved Middlebury to 12-2 overall and 8-2 in conference play, while the Bobcats dropped to 4-9-1 and 0-7-1 in the NESCAC. The Panthers cap the regular season Tuesday with a 3:00 p.m. road match at Williams, while Bates travels to Colby the same day.

Middlebury nearly opened the scoring in the 34th minute on a great chance by Emma Shumway. Shumway took a through ball from Amy Martin behind the Bobcat defense and fired a shot toward the left post, but keeper Sarah McCarthy made a diving save.

Adrianna Gildner had another chance for the Panthers in the 27th minute, hooking a long shot on goal that McCarthy reached up to make the save.

The match stayed scoreless into the second half, with the hosts nearly breaking through in the 63rd minute. Martin struck a ball from close range that McCarthy denied with her foot.

The best chance in the game for the Bobcats came in the 75th minute on a play that started as part of a corner kick. Olivia Amdur served the ball to the front of the Panther net where Allison Hill headed it on goal, but keeper Kate Reinmuth corralled the scoring attempt.

Middlebury netted the deciding goal with 12:16 remaining when Martin carried the ball up the right side and delivered a perfect cross to Amanda Dafonte. Dafonte redirected the ball into the net while in traffic for her third goal of the fall.

The Panthers doubled their lead just over three minutes later with Martin again serving as the catalyst. Cutting in from the right side, Martin drew McCarthy out of the Bobcat net and touched a short pass to Gildner, who tapped in her team-leading eighth goal.

Rebecca Palacios capped the scoring in the 88th minute on a short feed from Martin for her first tally of the season. Martin's third helper of the day put her in a tie for second in the program's single-game records.

Reinmuth made three saves as she posted her fourth shutout of the season, while McCarthy finished with seven saves. Middlebury held a 23-7 advantage in shots and 6-2 edge in corner kicks.