MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College field hockey team won two NESCAC games this past weekend to improve to 4-0, 3-0 in league play.
The Panthers entered this week ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division III and next travel to Maine on Saturday to take on No. 2 Bowdoin.
On this past Sunday, the Panthers scored five times in the first half in a 7-0 home win against Hamilton. Middie Annie Leonard led the attack with two goals and added an assist against the Continentals (3-2, 1-2 NESCAC).
Middlebury grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute. When Anna Kenyon converted a Caroline Knapp pass from the left side across the circle. Just 35 seconds later, Grace Jennings collected a loose ball at the midfield and raced past the Continental defense, beating Hamilton goalie Julia Booth with a shot to the right side.
On a penalty corner at 16:42, Leonard scored her first of the day on a blast from just inside the circle. About two minutes Leonard scored on another corner, this time with assists from Pam Schulman and Knapp.
The Panthers made it 5-0 on a another corner, this one at 20:52, with Kenyon setting up Shannon Hutteman.
Schulman, from Leonard, made it 6-0 at 38:06 of the second, and Molly Freeman finished the scoring in the 60th minute, with Knapp picking up her third assist.
The Panthers held advantages in both shots (24-9) and penalty corners (12-7). Emily Miller made one save in opening half for the Panthers, while Evangeline Dunphy made four stops in the second half. Booth made six saves in 47:15, and Mary Kalb made five stops in the final 22:45.
On Saturday, the Panthers picked up a 4-2 win at No. 13 Amherst (2-2, 0-3 NESCAC), rallying for the final three goals.
Schulman made it 1-0 on a penalty corner 3:24 into play, with Hutteman and Knapp assisting.
Annika Nygren scored for Amherst 28 seconds later to even the contest at 1-1, assisted by Mary Grace Cronin after she picked off a clear near the top of the circle.
Nygren made it 2-1 in the first minute of the second half, redirecting a Caroline Feeley shot home. 
Jennings leveled the score in the 41st minute, breaking past the Amherst backline and converting a breakaway.
The Panthers notched the game-winner three minutes later, when Knapp banged in the rebound of a Kenyon shot.
Amherst pressed, but Knapp added an insurance goal with three minutes to play.
Amherst held the shots advantage, 16-14, while Middlebury held the edge in corners, 9-5. Emily Horwitz recorded five saves for Amherst, while Miller made nine saves for the Panthers.