MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College field hockey team split two NESCAC games this past weekend, including suffering their first loss of the season. The Panthers (3-1, 2-1 in league play) will next visit NESCAC foe Bowdoin on Saturday. They were ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division III before losing at home on Sunday.
That 3-2 loss came at the hands of visiting Hamilton. The Continentals, ranked No. 15 before the result, improved to 4-1, 3-0 in league play. 
Hamilton opened the scoring 12:16 into the game when Margaret Rivera capitalized on penalty stroke seconds after Middlebury’s Lauren Schweppe made a defensive save. Hamilton doubled its lead 1:37 later when Tatiana Bradley knocked home a loose ball.
The Panthers scored at 11:07 of the first half, when Emma Johns poked in the rebound of Hamilton’s Cat Donahue’s defensive save.
In the second half, the Continentals got an insurance goal at 7:11 when Bradley converted a Lizzie Clark cross. Middlebury made it a one-goal game at 1:18, when Audrey Quirk tipped in a pass from Molly Freeman.  
Panther goalie Megan Collins made seven saves, while Julia Booth had four for the Continentals. Hamilton held a 14-10 edge in shots and Middlebury had a 10-5 advantage in penalty corners.
On Saturday, the Panthers edged host Amherst, then ranked No. 7, 2-1. The Mammoths dropped to 3-1, 1-1 in league play.
Middlebury got on the board 12:37 into the first half when Quirk scored on the rebound of a Schweppe shot on a penalty corner.
Johns made a defensive save to preserve the tie early in the second half, but the Mammoths tied the game 15 minutes in on an Elizabeth Turnball penalty stroke.
Five minutes later the Panthers notched the game winner: Kelly Coyle scored on a sweeping shot with her back to the net, with Johns assisting.
Middlebury finished with advantages of 17-7 in shots and 7-5 in penalty corners. Collins tallied three saves, while Emilie Flamme made nine saves for the Mammoths.