The Middlebury women's soccer team matched a season high with five goals, as the Panthers recorded a 5-0 NESCAC triumph at Bates (1-6-1, 0-4-0) on Saturday. Second-ranked Middlebury (8-0-1, 4-0-1) plays its final non-conference game of the season on Tuesday, traveling to Castleton for a 7:00 p.m. contest.

The visitors grabbed a 1-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game, when Gretchen McGrath netted her fourth goal of the season with 9:06 expired. Anna Glovin sent a long pass to the left side of the restraining area, where McGrath ran onto the ball and fired a shot into the upper-right corner of the net.

Bates had its only shot on goal in the initial 45 minutes in the 20th minute, as Sofia Fitzgerald's shot from the top of the penalty box was scooped up by Panther keeper Ursula Alwang. Middlebury doubled its lead when Simone Ameer buried a penalty kick into the right side of the net after a Bobcat foul in the penalty box. The tally gave the visitors a 2-0 cushion with 12:57 on the clock. The Panthers tacked on a third goal 30 seconds before the break, as Ameer headed in her team-leading sixth goal of the year on corner kick from Eliza Robinson.

In the second frame, the Panthers increased their lead to 4-0 with 15:05 expired, as Quinn Rogers knocked in a shot from the right side of the crease for her third tally of the season. Middlebury made it a five-goal difference with 14:27 left in the contest, as Olivia Miller lofted a pass into the penalty area that Ellie Greenberg one-touched into the back of the net to close out the scoring.

Alwang and Eva Shaw each played a half in goal and made one save in sharing the shutout, while Katherine Nuckols (five) and Elizabeth Crawford (one) combined for six stops in the Bobcat net.

Middlebury held a wide 21-3 margin in shots and had the only four corner kicks in the contest.