Nationally ranked No. 2 Middlebury College scored twice in the fourth quarter and the Panthers posted a 3-0 win against the Hamilton College Continentals in a 2019 NESCAC Field Hockey Championship semifinal at Middlebury's blustery Kohn Field on Saturday.

Middlebury (16-1 overall) -- the two-time defending NESCAC champion and the top seed in the championship -- advanced to Sunday's final for the third consecutive year at noon. The Panthers own the top offense in the conference, averaging 3.4 goals per game, and have surrendered a league-low 11 goals.

Seventh-seeded Hamilton (9-8) was going for its sixth straight win after earning a 2-1 victory at second-seeded and then-No. 4 Bowdoin College in the quarterfinals last weekend. Maggie Reville '22 recorded seven saves in the cage, increasing her season total to 127. Reville tops the NESCAC leaderboard in both saves and save percentage (.804).

Middlebury capitalized on its third penalty corner opportunity with 7:52 left in the first quarter. Isabel Chandler inserted the ball from Reville's right to Marissa Baker at the top of the arc, and Baker fed the ball across to Emma Johns for a shot inside the lower-left corner of the cage. The Panthers held their one-goal lead for nearly 39 minutes.

Hamilton increased the pressure towards the end of the second quarter, locking the Panthers in their own zone for three shots on goal and two penalty corners. Cat Donahue '21 had the first attempt off a corner at 26:54 but her shot was blocked. The Continentals earned their third corner with 2:07 left. Maura Holden '23 inserted the ball and Maddie Beitler '21 worked free for a shot on Grace Harlan (two saves). Tracey Stafford '23 attempted to knock the rebound into the open cage but it was blocked by Sophia Peluso. Harlan leads the NESCAC with a 0.64 goals against average.

The Panthers added two insurance goals at the start of the fourth quarter. Baker notched her fifth of the season off a penalty corner inserted by Meg Fearey with 13:37 remaining, and Danielle Brown tapped in a rebound after Reville denied Baker's shot attempt with 12:05 to go. The Continentals were awarded three corners in the final eight minutes, but the shot attempts by Keeley Duran '22, Kathryn Craine '21 and Holden never reached the cage.

Middlebury finished with an 11-8 shot advantage and a 9-6 edge in penalty corners.