The Middlebury field hockey team advanced to the NESCAC Championship game for the sixth-straight year, as the Panthers handled Hamilton 5-2 Saturday at Tufts. Fourth-seeded Middlebury (14-3) faces host and top-seeded Tufts (15-2) on Sunday at noon with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Jumbos earned a spot in the finals with a 5-0 triumph over Williams.

The Panthers opened the scoring 11:51 into the game when Annie Leonard gained possession of the ball inside the arc, cut to her right and fired a shot through the pads of Hamilton goalie Julia Booth for a 1-0 lead.

Middlebury doubled the lead in the late stages of the half on a play that started with a takeaway by Leonard near midfield. Leonard then pushed a pass up the right side to Grace Jennings, who cut toward the goal and slide a shot inside the near post for her sixth tally of the fall.

With the Panthers holding a 2-0 lead at the start of the second stanza, the Continentals (12-5) scored early to cut the deficit in half. Margaret Revera directed a short pass ahead to Michaela Giuttari, who knocked the ball in her for 14th goal of the season at the 3:37 mark.

Minutes later, Hamilton nearly tied the game on a shot by Giuttari from close range, but Middlebury goalie Emily Miller made a nice save. The Panthers quickly carried the ball into the Hamilton half of the field and once inside the arc were awarded a penalty corner. Audrey Quirk inserted the ball and remained on the left side of the net, where she took a pass from Lauren Schweppe. After collecting the ball, Quirk stepped toward the goal and fired a shot inside the near post for a 3-1 lead with 26:54 showing on the clock.

The Panthers struck for two goals in 51 seconds, expanding their lead to 5-1. Leonard tallied on a pass from Molly Freeman for her team-leading 20th goal of the season with 5:33 left in the game, while Quirk tapped in her second of the contest and third of the fall on a feed from Emma Johns.

Hamilton closed out the scoring with 3:20 remaining when Revera found the back of the cage to make the final margin 5-2.

Miller earned the win with three saves, while Booth stopped 11 Panther shots. Middlebury carried play throughout the game, finishing with a big advantage in shots (28-13) and penalty corners (15-7).

During the regular season, the Tufts edged Middlebury 2-1 in game played on Kohn Field.