Box Score Middlebury broke open a 13-10 game by scoring the next seven goals en route to a 20-11 win over Hamilton (5-9, 3-7) on Kohn Field Sunday afternoon. The eighth-ranked Panthers (12-2, 8-1) wrap up their regular season on Wednesday with a 6:00 p.m. game at Williams, while Hamilton hosts Ithaca on the same day.
With the game tied at 3-3, Middlebury scored four-straight goals to go on top 7-3 with 16:19 remaining in the first half. Hollis Perticone and Emma McDonagh converted free-position shots, while Kate Zecca and Jenna McNicholas netted the other two tallies.
Hamilton answered by scoring six of the game's next eight goals, tying the game at 9-9 on a goal from Honor Gabriel with 3:19 left to in the first 30 minutes. Kirsten Murphy and Georgia Carroll scored 31 seconds apart for the Panthers, giving them an 11-9 lead at the break.
McDonagh and Murphy gave the home team a 13-9 advantage in the second half, before Darby Philbrick converted a free-position shot for the Continentals, making the score 13-10 with 20:03 left to play.
Middlebury controlled the game from that point forward, netting the next seven goals for a 20-10 lead with 4:41 remaining. Perticone and McNicholas scored 36 seconds apart to start the run, while Perticone and Grace Getman followed with free-position conversions, making it 17-10. Erin Nicholas found a cutting Casey O'Neill, before Sara Weppler scored with a burst of speed down the middle, putting her team on top, 19-10. Claire Russell scored Middlebury's final goal with a helper from MG Gately, while Hamilton's Kara Pooley made it a 20-11 final when she scored on a free position shot.
Carroll finished with three goals and two assists to pace the home team, while McDonagh earned three goals with a helper. Perticone scored three times and won 10 draw controls, while Sara DiCenso dished out four first-half assists. Defensively, Susanna Baker picked up five ground balls and caused three turnovers, while Nicholas caused three turnovers and picked up three rollers. Julia Keith earned the win with a pair of saves in the first half, while Kate Furber (24 min., 3 saves) and Alex Freedman (6 min, 1 save) saw second-half action.
Gabriel scored three times, while Skyler Simson earned two goals with six draw controls to pace Hamilton. Pooley finished with a pair of goals and four draws, while Philbrick earned a goal, an assist, five draws and caused three turnovers. Hannah Burrall made three saves in the first half, while Eleni Neyland made five second-half saves.