Kyle Soroka scored one of his game-high five goals with 13.9 seconds remaining, lifting Middlebury (11-5) to an 11-10 win over Bates (11-4) in a NESCAC Quarterfinal game on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium. The Panthers advance to next Saturday's semifinal round at Tufts against Bowdoin at 3:00 p.m. Middlebury entered the game as the fourth seed and ranked ninth nationally, while the Bobcats were seeded fifth and held the 10th spot in the national rankings.

With the game tied at 3-3 in the second quarter, Middlebury went on a 3-0 run, taking a 6-3 advantage late in the half. Jon Broome opened the spurt with a nice bounce shot from close range with 1:50 left on the clock. Soroka followed with a 15-yard shot on the left side to make it a 5-3 game with exactly 1:00 remaining. Sean Carroll found Cedric Rhodes, who buried a shot with just 10 seconds left in the half to put his team up 6-3 at the intermission. John Jackson won three-straight face-offs during the run to aid his team's efforts.

Bates battled back in the second half, with a goal from Jack Allard and a man-up tally from Charlie Fay to make it a one-goal game (6-5) at the 11:40 mark of the third quarter. Soroka answered at 9:54 before Bates responded with three more goals, giving them five of the quarter's first six tallies. Clark Jones cut hard down the middle and converted a pass from Allard for the first goal, before Burke Smith took advantage of a turnover and tied the game at 7-7 with 6:22 remaining in the third quarter. Allard scored the third goal of the run, putting the Bobcats up for the first time since holding a 2-1 advantage. Carroll ended the run for Middlebury, scoring with an open look after a pass from Broome with 3.1 seconds left in the third quarter.

Middlebury was first to score in the fourth quarter (7:35), as Broome scored on a rebound after the initial shot by Soroka had been saved.

Bates answered less than a minute later when Weber tallied on a long bounce shot from 15 yards out. Just 13 seconds later, Clarke Jones broke in after the faceoff, finding Allard for a quick goal to put his team on top 10-9 with 6:43 left to play.

The Bobcats were taking time off the clock with 3:36 remaining, but Eric Rogers caused a turnover to give the Panthers the ball back. One minute later, Soroka tied the game with a rocket from the left side with 1:10 remaining.

Jackson won the ensuing faceoff with Middlebury working the offense before calling a timeout with 23 seconds remaining. Soroka rose to the occasion once again, driving toward the goal from the right side before ripping a shot into the back of the net with 13.9 seconds left on the clock.

Bates had one last chance after winning the faceoff, but a shot from 10 yards out on the left side went just wide.

Will Ernst had a huge game for the Panthers in goal with 17 saves, including eight during a first quarter when the Bobcats were getting several open looks. Soroka's five goals were aided by two tallies and three assists for Broome, who moves into fifth place all time at Middlebury with 216 career points. He also increased his point streak to 15 games. Carroll finished with two goals and an assist, while Jackson won 14-24 faceoffs with six groundballs. Rogers finished with a pair of caused turnovers, while Broome and Michael McCormack each picked up four grounds balls.

Fay scored four to pace Bates, with three goals and three assists for Allard. Fred Ulbrick finished with three caused turnovers, Allard earned seven ground balls, while Joe Faria made 13 saves.