Propelled by a flawless first quarter, second-ranked Middlebury (21-1) advanced to the NCAA Championship game for the third time in the last five seasons, as the Panthers stormed their way past #4 Gettysburg 18-5 on Saturday in Salem, Virginia. Middlebury will play for the program's eighth national title on Sunday at 3:30 p.m., taking on third-ranked Tufts, an 18-7 winner over #7 The College of New Jersey.

The fourth-ranked Bullets, who entered the game with the nation's longest winning streak at 13 games, finished the season at 18-2.

Middlebury got on the scoreboard during its initial possession, as Grace Getman scored off a nice feed from Lily Riseberg just 1:05 into the contest. Just over a minute later, Jane Earley created shooting space on the right side and fired a high shot into the Gettysburg net for a 2-0 cushion. Maggie Coughlin made it a 3-0 score by cashing in on a free-position attempt with 7:26 on the clock. Panther goalie Annie Enrietto made a key save with 4:57 remaining on an eight-meter attempt by Katie Fullowan, before Hope Shue laced a shot from 15 yards out past Bullet goalie Gina Cortese and Niki Mormile tallied on a leaping shot to give Middlebury a 5-0 advantage after 15 minutes of play.

Gettysburg finally broke into the scoring column 2:39 in the second stanza when Jordan Basso tallied on a free-position bid. Middlebury added to its lead when Mormile tucked the ball over Cortese and Shue followed with a long bounce shot that pushed the difference to 7-1.

Enrietto protected that lead with two huge stops. She first denied Emily Crane on a free-position shot and then robbed Maddi Seibel on a quick stick attempt from point-blank range. Mormile tacked on one more goal before the end of the half, whipping a feed from Earley into the upper part of the net for an 8-1 cushion.

Gettysburg's Gabi Connor opened the scoring in the third frame with 13:05 on the clock, but the Panthers responded with three goals in a span of 3:13. Susan Rowley dodged a defender and tallied, before setting up Shue with her second marker of the contest. Erin Nicholas capped the modest run by converting on a free-position bid. After a Bullet score made it 11-3, the Panthers reeled off three of the next four goals for a 14-4 lead with one quarter left to play.

The Panthers continued to pad their lead in the final frame, netting the first four goals with Earley, Kelcey Dion, Madeline Riordan and Anna Spehr each scoring. Basso closed out the scoring with a tally in the closing minute to make the final 18-5.

Mormile led all players with a career-high four goals and one assist, while Earley tallied twice and dished out three assists. With her five points, Earley tying her for second place on the program's single-season scoring list with 92 points.

The Panthers held a decisive 20-6 advantage in draw controls with Erica Barr tying Middlebury's single-game record of 12 set by Hollis Perticone in 2018. Emma White had a big game defensively with three caused turnovers. Enrietto (15-0) backstopped the victory with seven saves.

Middlebury's second-ranked defense has been stellar throughout the NCAA Tournament, yielding only 17 goals over four contests and has not allowed an opponent to score in double figures in the last 11 games.

For Gettysburg, Fullowan scored twice and had one assist, while Basso, who entered the game with more than 100 points, was held to a pair of tallies. Shannon Twill made four saves in 35:16 of action, while Cortese had two in 24:44.