Fourth-seeded Middlebury utilized a pair of first-half goals and held off an early second-half surge by Bowdoin for a 2-0 win over the fifth-seeded Polar Bears (11-5) in a NESCAC Quarterfinal contest on Kohn Field. The Panthers (13-3) advance to next weekend's semifinal round at Tufts, where they will meet Hamilton at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The host school takes on Williams at 11:00 a.m., with the winners meeting for the NESCAC title at noon on Sunday.

Middlebury opened the scoring a little more than 10 minutes into the opening half. An initial shot by Grace Jennings was kicked away by Polar Bear goalie Clara Belitz. The Polar Bears tried to clear the ball out of their defensive end, but Marissa Baker intercepted a pass and lifted a reserve sweep up that was tipped in by Molly Freeman over Belitz for her sixth goal of the season.

The score remained a 1-0 advantage for Middlebury until the 25th minute. During the first penalty corner of the contest, Audrey Quirk inserted the ball to Jennings, who stopped it. Lauren Schweppe quickly rifled a shot from just inside the arc that flew past Belitz into the back of the cage. The tally was the 11th of the season for Schweppe.

The Polar Bears turned up the pressure in the first 10 minutes of the second half. The visitors greatest scoring chance came in the 41st minute when Kimmy Ganong dribbled the ball to three yards away on the right, but Middlebury goalie Emily Miller denied Ganong twice on the doorstep.

Bowdoin appeared to cut the Panther lead to one in the 55th minute on its first penalty corner of the contest. A shot by Elizabeth Bennewitz from just outside the arc was tipped and went into the back of the cage, but the officials waved it off, ruling it hit a defender's stick.

Middlebury finished with a narrow 7-6 advantage in shots and both teams finished with two penalty corners. Miller made four saves in goal for her sixth shutout of the season and 14th of her career, while Belitz made three stops for the Polar Bears.

This was the sixth-straight year the two teams have meet in the NESCAC Tournament, with the five prior meetings in the title game.