The Middlebury women's hockey team remained unbeaten in NESCAC play as the Panthers collected a 4-2 victory over Wesleyan on Friday in Kenyon Arena. Jessica Young scored twice and assisted on two others to pace Middlebury to its fifth-straight league victory. The sixth-ranked Panthers (12-4-3, 8-0-3) host the Cardinals (4-13-1, 1-9-1) again on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

Wesleyan opened the scoring 6:55 into the game, when Madzie Carroll wristed the puck on goal from the left point before Cici Frattasio cut through the slot and tipped the shot in for her third goal of the season.

Middlebury nearly tied the game just over a minute later when Jenna Marotta fired a shot from the right circle that hit the cross bar.

The Panthers knotted the game at the 14:37 mark of the period on a play that started along their own blue line. Grace Jennings swiped the puck away from a Wesleyan player, Young collected it in the neutral zone and raced up the left side. She cut through the circle as her shot eluded Cardinal goalie Laura Corcoran to tie the game at 1-1.

Middlebury had a quality scoring chance looking to take its first lead of the game early in the second period when Rachael St. Clair broke in on Corcoran, only to be stopped by the right pad of the Cardinal goalie.

The Panthers grabbed a 2-1 advantage at the 9:30 mark, when Maddie Winslow slid a pass behind Corcoran to the left post where Shanna Hickman swept the puck in.

The Cardinals had a bid to pull even with less than five minutes left in the period on a shot from the right side by Kendall Carr. Middlebury goalie Marisa Dreher made a stick save and then reached up and snared the rebound to protect the lead.

In the third period, Winslow gave the hosts a two-goal cushion at the 11:15 mark. She took a drop pass from Young behind the Cardinal net, stepped out front and snapped a shot in for her team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Wesleyan closed the difference back to a goal, scoring while on the power play. Jenny Robinson pounced on a loose puck on a scramble in front of the Panther net, making it a 3-2 game.

Young capped off her big night with an insurance goal into an empty Wesleyan net with 35 seconds remaining.

Dreher made 12 saves to improve to 5-1 for the season, while Corcoran registered 29 stops for the Cardinals.

Middlebury held a decisive 33-14 edge in shots on goal and has allowed only 24 shots in its last two games. The Cardinals scored on their only power-play chance, while the Panthers were 0-2.