Middlebury, Vt. - The Middlebury College Panthers broke open a 1-0 game with four goals in less than 20 minutes in the second half on its way to a 5-0 victory over the visiting Trinity College Bantams in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) field hockey action this afternoon.  Trinity drops to 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the NESCAC with its third straight setback. The No. 6-ranked Panthers move to 9-2 overall and 5-2 in NESCAC play.

Middlebury scored on its first corner of the game, as Catherine Fowler worked a give-and-go with Elinore O'Brien. The first half ended with an 11-0 shots advantage for the Panthers, but just a 1-0 lead.  The Panthers scored twice in a 2:40 span early in the second half to take a 3-0 lead. Katherine Theiss tallied on a rebound after a shot from Bridget Instrum had been saved, before Hannah Deoul found the back of the cage on a rebound after a Fowler shot had been stopped.

The Bantams had a pair of corners and then nearly got on the board at 55:50, but senior forward Paige Duke's (Dedham, Mass.) breakaway shot was denied by Emily Knapp who came out to challenge the play.  Instrum scored on a corner with O'Brien earning her second assist of the game at 55:50 to make it a 4-0 game. Fowler wrapped up the scoring at 61:37 with a penalty stroke.  Knapp earned her fourth shutout of the season with four saves, while Trinity sophomore goalie Sophie Fitzpatrick (Duxbury, Mass.) made 11 stops for Trinity.