The third-seeded Middlebury women's soccer team saw its NESCAC Tournament come to an end with a 2-0 semifinal loss Saturday against second-seeded Amherst (14-2-1) on Williams' Cole Field. The Panthers fall to 13-4 overall and must wait until the NCAA Tournament field is announced on Monday afternoon to see if they will receive an at-large bid.

Scoring chances were hard to come by in Saturday's opening half. Middlebury's best opening came in the 37th minute when Sabrina Glaser worked her way inside the penalty area on the left side, crossing a ball toward the far post. Rebecca Palacios charged onto the cross, but her header went just over the crossbar.

In the second half, the Middlebury's Adrianna Gildner ripped a shot from right inside the penalty area off her left foot in the 49th minute which sailed wide left. Just seconds later, Panther keeper Kate Reinmuth came out to challenge a charging Hannah Guzzi, forcing the Amherst player to put her shot wide of the goal.

The Purple & White got onto the scoreboard at 51:47 when Rubii Tamen dribbled down the right sideline. She sent a cross that Reinmuth came off her line to corral, but the ball squirted away to the feet of Guzzi, who tapped it in for her NESCAC-leading 15th goal of the season.

Amherst doubled its lead nearly 13 minutes later when Tamen muscled her way through the Middlebury defense for 40 yards and lifted a shot up and over a charging Reinmuth from eight yards out at 61:44. The tally was Tamen's fifth of the season.

In the 71st minute, Emma Shumway and Katherine Hobbs each found space seconds apart in the middle of the pitch, rifling shots from 15 yards away respectively that Amherst goalkeeper Chelsea Cutler saved.

The Panthers continued to pressure over the final minutes, but the Purple & White held on, moving into the NESCAC Championship contest.

Middlebury outshot its opponent 17-12 on the afternoon, while Amherst held a narrow 2-1 edge in corner kicks. Reinmuth finished with three saves for the Panthers, while Cutler was credited with 10.