The #1/top-seeded Middlebury field hockey team jumped out to a first-quarter lead and never relinquished it, opening the NESCAC Tournament with a 5-2 win over eighth-seed Hamilton. With the victory, the squad will host the remainder of the tournament next weekend on Peter Kohn Field.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Panthers looked to jump on the scoreboard with a pair of penalty corners a minute apart in the early stages of the first quarter, but the pads of Hamilton goalie Abby Griffin saved shots by Amy Griffin and Grace Keefe.
• Middlebury took the lead with 8:50 expired. Caroline Segal tapped in a shot following a nifty pass from Lilly Branka for the 1-0 advantage.
• The hosts nearly found the back of the cage again with 1:13 left as Georgianne Defeo raced up the field, but her attempt sailed just wide of the right post.
• The score remained that way until Defeo collected a rebound and fired it into the cage for a 2-0 lead with 6:46 left in the second frame.
• Hamilton got on the board 46 seconds later after a penalty corner. Eleanor Cooper redirected a pass from Evelyn Butorac through traffic to make it a 2-1 contest at the half.
• Following the break, the Continentals had a quality chance 51 seconds into the third quarter on a reverse sweep by Butorac skipped just outside the left post.
• Middlebury regained possession over the ensuing minutes, tallying its third goal of the day when Medwar muscled the ball past goalie Kelly Janssen with 5:51 elapsed.
• Hamilton manufactured an opportunity with 3:17 showing on the clock on a bid by Delaney Grace that goalie Madeline DiLemme came out and cut down the angle for the save to keep it a two-goal advantage.
• Segal posted her second goal of the game with 47 seconds left, sending a reverse sweep into the left side to make it a 4-1 contest.
• The Continentals took advantage of a penalty corner with 14 seconds left in the stanza on a blast by Alden Duserick to pull within two (4-2).
• The Panthers earned 10 penalty corners in the final quarter, cashing in with 1:59 left. An initial shot by Griffin was saved by defender Lydon Kelley. Emily Stone gathered the rebound and sent a reverse sweep into the bottom-left corner for the final 5-2 score.

NOTES

• With her goal, Defeo has tallied at least one point in 14 of the 16 contests this fall.
• The win was Middlebury's 25th-straight triumph on Peter Kohn Field, improving to 78-1 over the last 79 games.
• The programs played for the 26th time with the Panthers owning a 22-4 advantage. The sides have squared off five times in the NESCAC Tournament with Middlebury winning each contest, including a trio of victories in the quarterfinal round in 2015 (8-1), 2022 (5-1) and 2024 (5-2).

Middlebury will host the NESCAC Semifinal and Final rounds next Saturday and Sunday with matchups and times to be determined.