MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Bowdoin women's hockey team fell 4-1 to top-seeded Middlebury in the NESCAC Semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers (18-6-2) advanced to the NESCAC Championship game for the 12^th time in program history. The Polar Bears (13-10-4) earned a spot in the semifinals after knocking off third-seeded Hamilton the previous weekend.

Game Highlights

• The Panthers earned four promising scoring chances in the first three minutes of the game. Katherine Jackson fired a shot from the bottom of the circle that Kerri St. Denis gloved out of the air.
• Julie Dachille put a pair of shots on net, but Julia Neuburger denied both.
• Middlebury broke though 2:02 into the second frame. Jessica Young and Allie Aiello executed a give-and-go out of the right corner and Aiello firing a shot from the near side circle. The puck cleared St. Denis' shoulder to put the Panthers up 1-0.
• The hosts took a 2-0 lead during a five-on-three power play. Carly Watson sent the puck into the slot where Janka Hlinka touched a pass to the bottom of the left circle. Maddie Winslow went upstairs for her 12th goal of the season two seconds past the midway point of the period.
• The Polar Bears broke through for a tally in the last minute of the period on a scramble in front of the Panther net. Brooke Solomon directed the puck to Dachille, who slipped her team-leading 11th goal of the season through Neuburger with 51.3 seconds left before the second intermission.
• The Panthers outshot their opponents, 15-0 in the third. Middlebury had several good looks at the Bowdoin goal, but St. Denis kept her team in the game until the final minutes. The Panthers went on the power play at the 8:52 mark, with St. Denis making five saves over the two-minute span, keeping it a 2-1 game.
• Middlebury gained some breathing room with 2:09 remaining when Jenna Marotta netted her first of the season. After taking a pass from down low by Winslow, Marotta snapped a shot toward goal from the top of the right circle, past a screened St. Denis.
• Jessica Young sealed the victory with 19.1 seconds remaining, finding an open net from just inside the blue line after a dish from Janka Hlinka. 

By the Numbers

• Middlebury held a 35-10 shot advantage in the game and went 1-for-5 on the power play.
• Bowdoin was 0-for-4 with the extra skater.
• Neuburger made nine saves for the win.
• St. Denis turned away 31 shots.