Nationally ranked No. 7 Middlebury College won its sixth straight game with a 6-1 victory over Hamilton College in a New England Small College Athletic Conference game at Middlebury's Kenyon Arena on Feb. 4.
Middlebury (14-3-1 overall, 11-1-1 NESCAC) took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Madeline Joyce at the 13:41 mark of the first period. After a pair of shots were saved, Joyce finished off the rebound from just outside the slot.
Julia Ireland struck twice in the second period, the first at 3:31 as she scored on a rebound from the far side after a shot by Andrea Buono had been saved. Her second came just over three minutes later, as she converted a quick pass from Lauren Greer for the 3-0 lead. Ireland scored her team-leading 11th and 12th goals of the year to give her nine tallies in her last five contests.
Middlebury netminder Alexi Bloom kept it a 3-0 game at the 8-minute mark, denying Riley Smith '12 from close range. The Panthers increased their lead at 12:59, when Grace Waters scored on the doorstep, finishing off a shot by Heidi Woodworth.
Hamilton (8-10, 4-7) got on the board with 1:57 left in the period. Stephanie Miguel '11 redirected a nice pass from Emily Baxter '13 in transition for her sixth of the year. Miguel is tied for the team lead with 14 points in just 10 games.
Middlebury ended the second period with a 5-1 lead as Jamie Harisiades scored cutting to the goal from the right side with a quick shot to the top-right corner. Sara Ugalde scored on a wrister from the left wing for the only goal of the third period to account for the final margin.
Six Middlebury players finished with multiple points, including two helpers each for Heather Marrison and Anna McNally. Bloom finished with 20 saves to earn the win, while Becca Hazlett '13 made 29 stops for the Continentals.
