Third-ranked Middlebury scored a pair of quick goals in the first half en route to a 3-2 NESCAC victory over top-ranked Bowdoin Saturday on Kohn Field. The victory kept the Panthers (4-0, 3-0) undefeated on the season, while the Polar Bears fall to 5-1, 4-1 in league play. Middlebury continues conference play at Hamilton tomorrow with a 12:00 p.m. start, while Bowdoin is idle until Wednesday hosting Wellesley at 6:30 p.m.

The game was also a rematch of the 2015 NCAA Division III Championship in Virginia, which the Panthers won by a narrow 1-0 count.

The Polar Bears maintained possession for the early stages of the game, but the hosts took the early lead scoring on their initial shot. Annie Leonard gave Middlebury a 1-0 advantage 9:49 into the game when she ran up the left side of the field, passed to Emma Johns, who sent a return pass to Leonard for the goal.

The Panthers doubled the advantage 2:20 later, cashing in on a penalty corner. After an insert by Audrey Quirk, Leonard laced a shot from the top of the arc, which was tipped in by Susanna Baker.

Bowdoin cut the deficit in half with 7:02 left in the opening frame when Kimmy Ganong tapped in a hard shot from Elizabeth Bennewitz on a penalty corner.

In the second half, Middlebury added an insurance goal with 11:03 on the clock when Leonard netted her second of the game. Lauren Schweppe pushed a short pass to Leonard near the top of the arc, who used a reverse sweeping shot to extend the Panther lead to 3-1. The goal was Leonard's team-leading eighth of the season.

Bowdoin made it a one-goal game with 7:15 left in regulation when Kara Finnerty dribbled along the end line from the right wing and centered a pass to Ganong, who knocked in her second tally of the game and eighth of the year.

The Polar Bears continued to push for the equalizer, but Julianna Fiore's shot with six seconds remaining just missed the left post.

Middlebury goalie Emily Miller made five saves for her fourth win of the season, while Clara Belitz did not register a save in the defeat.

The Polar Bears held advantages in both shots (13-7) and penalty corners (7-4).