Middlebury netted a pair of goals in the opening 10 minutes of the game and never looked back, as the 24th-ranked Panthers earned a 3-0 shutout over visiting Plattsburgh State on Wednesday. Middlebury (3-1) returns to NESCAC play on Saturday, hosting Bowdoin at 11:00 a.m., while the Cardinals (2-1-2) are at Skidmore the same day for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.

The Panthers struck early, opening the scoring 3:29 into the contest. Eliza Van Voorhis jumped on a cross from Simone Ameer that glanced off Cardinal keeper Julia Ennis, lacing a low shot into the left corner of the net. Just under five minutes later, the hosts doubled the advantage, as Ameer directed a penalty kick into the left side of the goal after a Cardinal foul in the retraining area.

Plattsburgh State's best chance to get on the scoreboard came with 22 minutes on the clock. Kirsten Villemaire fired a shot from the left wing that Middlebury goalie Sydney Poppinga punched out of harm's way.

In the second half, Middlebury made it a 3-0 contest in the 59th minute when Elizabeth Peebles hooked a shot from the right side into the far upper corner for her second tally of the fall.

Poppinga came up with two big stops for the Panthers to preserve the shutout, starting with a save on Villemaire's low bid from close range on the left side with 16 minutes remaining. Poppinga then dropped down to knock away a chance from Erin Metzger as she charged the net from the right wing.

Poppinga finished with eight saves for her second shutout of the season, as the Cardinals held a slim 12-11 edge in shots. Ennis (72:15) and Payton Couture (17:45) each had two stops for Plattsburgh State.

 Middlebury took two of the game's three corner kicks.