Middlebury kept its bid for a fifth-straight national championship alive, as the second-ranked Panthers posted a 3-0 shutout over #9 Trinity on Sunday in an NCAA Regional Final. With the victory, Middlebury earns its 13th trip to the final four where the Panthers will play host and third-ranked Rowan in a semifinal contest on November 18 at 3:00 p.m. In the other game, #8 Williams plays #4 Johns Hopkins in the first semifinal at 12:00 p.m.
 
With the triumph, Middlebury avenged its lone regular-season loss in which the Bantams edged the Panthers 2-1 on October 15.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The opening minutes of the first quarter saw both sides battling for possession. Middlebury got on the scoreboard following a penalty corner with 11:08 gone in the opening stanza when Sadie LeStage tapped in a pass from Hanna Medwar. 
• The Panthers maintained possession through much of the second quarter, looking to increase their lead in the final minutes. Katherine Lantzy ripped a backhanded sweep from the left with 4:00 remaining that hit the outside of the cage, while Caroline Segal blasted a shot from straight on that Bantam goalie Olivia McMichael kicked away 26 seconds later.
• Less than two minutes before halftime, Amy Griffin drove down the middle of the circle and cut to the right, but her shot was saved by McMichael who charged off her goal line to keep the Middlebury lead 1-0 at the break.
• The Panthers came out of the intermission looking to increase their lead, but a rising shot from Grace Murphy 56 seconds into the third quarter was denied by McMichael with the top of her pads.
• Middlebury doubled its advantage near the midway point of the third quarter on a tremendous effort by Katie George. As George drove into the circle, she slipped but got a shot off from her knees, sneaking the ball inside the left post for a 2-0 lead with 7:24 gone.
• The Panther advantage nearly went to three goals, but a pretty defensive save by Trinity's Izzy Deveney on the right post denied Griffin's shot at the 11:07 mark.
• Middlebury kept up its pressure while down a player in the early stages of the fourth quarter, but Segal's bid was denied by a charging McMichael with 4:49 expired.
• Trinity produced its greatest scoring chance nearly seven minutes into the fourth quarter following its lone penalty corner of the contest. Caelin Flaherty had a shot from the top of the circle that was blocked by a Panther defender. The loose ball caromed to Ashley Zigler, but Panther goalie Grace Harlan saved two point-blank bids to keep the score 2-0.
• Middlebury tallied its third goal with 3:47 left in the contest, as Griffin ripped a reverse sweep into the left side of the cage for the final 3-0 score. 

NOTES

• Griffin and George each recorded their team-leading 17th goals in the victory.
• Harlan posted her fourth-straight shutout and increased her program career record to 23.
• The Panther defense hasn't surrendered a goal in the last 267:39 of action.
• Middlebury has scored 102 goals this season, marking the second-highest total in the program's single-season history.