The Middlebury women's soccer team hosted Hamilton in Saturday's NESCAC Quarterfinal. The Panthers vanquished the Continentals 2–0, advancing to the semifinals for the first time in four years.
A confident showing from the Panther defense and a stellar performance by goalkeeper Livia Davidson ’26 nullified the Hamilton attack, resulting in a Middlebury clean sheet. At the other end of the field, the Continentals languished under the pressure of the Middlebury attack. First-half goals from Gigi Day ’27 and Kjersti Moritz ’28 saw the Panthers through to the semifinals.
The Panthers' first glimpse of goal came in the seventh minute. A short corner kick found Lauren Tracey ’29 unmarked at the edge of the box, whose low shot from 20 yards out rattled the left post. Attacker Carolina Espinosa’s ’26 follow-up attempt sailed over the crossbar.
Middlebury came knocking again in the 15th minute as the Continentals attempted to play out from the back, wilting under the Panthers’ fierce pressure and giving up the ball. The Panthers advanced up the pitch with quick, surgical passes. Midfielder Stella Espinasse’s ’27 attempt from the top of the penalty area deflected off a defender. Another salvo, again, deflected; another shot, this one directly into the goalkeeper’s hands.
Middlebury finally broke through in the 22nd minute. After a corner kick was played back to Wynne Braemar ’29, her spinning cross into the box was deftly guided to the right corner by Roshann Purcell ’26. The Continental goalkeeper swiped it into the path of Day, who pounced on the ball to give the Panthers the lead.
Davidson faced her first real test in the 24th minute, dropping right to push away a low, powerful shot. She stifled another attempt in the 39th minute.
In the 43rd minute, Moritz made a daring leap to get onto the end of Kacy Walker’s ’29 probing cross into the box, clattering into the keeper for a Hamilton free kick.
Middlebury scored their second in the final minute of the first half. Walker won the ball high up the pitch, passing to Moritz, who wove through a pair of Hamilton defenders and curled a shot into the upper left corner from just inside the penalty area.
The Continentals generated more chances in the second half, frantically fighting to keep their season alive. A bending attempt in the 49th minute forced Davidson into a diving save.
The Continentals’ best chance to get back into the game came three minutes later, but an open shot from inside the Panther penalty area glanced haplessly off the left post.
The Panthers maintained their assault on the Hamilton goal. With half an hour to play, Chloe Swindle ’27 wound up from 25 yards, forcing a stretching save from the Continentals’ keeper.
In the final seconds of the match, a Hamilton attempt was closed down by Davidson to secure the Panthers’ 11th shutout of the season.
Davidson ended the game with eight saves, just one short of tying her career best. In a match that looked even on paper, her eight saves against the opponent’s five could very well have proven to be the difference maker. Middlebury attempted just one more shot than their opponent (20-19), and Hamilton actually tallied more on target (8-7).
Trust was key in the Panthers’ victory, said Davidson. “Ultimately it just came down to doing my job and trusting that the rest of my teammates would do theirs,” said Davidson.
Day’s goal was her third of the season, while Moritz tallied her first. Many players have chipped in this season, with 14 different players contributing goals and seven of them having netted twice.
The Panthers will look to keep their championship dreams alive when they travel to face Williams in the NESCAC Semifinal round next Saturday. The matchup provides a chance for the Panthers to avenge their 0–1 loss to the Ephs in the regular season finale on Oct. 28.
“We've carried this trust in each other throughout the season,” said Davidson when asked how the Panthers are preparing for the big matchup. “We're tackling each part of our game and strategy one moment at a time and preparing to come out strong this weekend.”
