Middlebury held off a late charge by Utica (9-2), picking up a 4-3 road win over the Pioneers on Saturday afternoon. The sixth-ranked Panthers (4-1-2) are off until January 4-5 when they host Amherst in a two-game NESCAC series.

Middlebury took a 1-0 lead 5:54 into the game when Sidney Portner won a faceoff to Katie Hargrave, who ripped a shot into the back of the net from the top of the circle. The goal was Hargrave's team-leading fourth of the season.

The Panthers went up 2-0 when Madie Leidt netted her third of the year from the top of the left faceoff circle after a rebound, scoring with a shot glove-side high at the 12:16 mark.

Katherine Jackson made it a 3-0 game just over two minutes later (14:48) in transition, netting her first of the year after a feed from Leidt.

Utica got on the board less than a minute later (15:37) when Lexi Stanisewski scored with a slap shot after the original effort by Georgiana Santullo had been saved.

Middlebury took a 4-1 lead midway through the second period when Katarina Shuchuk's shot trickled over the line after a partial save on a shot through the five-hole. The goal, her second of the season, came after a pass from the point by Alexis Ryan at 11:39.

Utica made it a two-goal game at 4-2 with 2:16 left in the period on a power-play goal. Kayla Dion scored on a blast from the point.

The Pioneers kept coming, making it a one-goal contest at the 5:58 mark when Maddie Paydos scored from a tough angle on a deflection.

That's as close as Utica would come, as the Panther defense clamped down to emerge with the 4-3 win.

Middlebury held a 35-24 shots advantage in the game as Lin Han made 21 saves to pick up the win. Bria Reilly made 31 stops in net for the Pioneers.