The Middlebury men's soccer team lost for just the second time in nine matches this season, falling by a score of 1-0 at Tufts on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers (6-2-1, 3-2-1) return to the field on Sunday at Wesleyan, while the Jumbos (6-3-1, 4-2-1) host Gordon on Tuesday.

Tufts pushed on the offensive side of the ball early with a pair of shots. A scoring attempt from Nathan Majumder went wide right in the seventh minute followed by a blast by Zach Halliday in the eighth minute that sailed just high.

The Panthers got in on the action as well when Luis Echeverria nailed a bicycle kick just over the crossbar in the 23rd minute, followed by a close possession that dribbled out of bounds just past the reach of Middlebury forward Kirk Horton.

Majumder's game-winner, his team-high sixth goal of the season, came after halftime in the 53rd minute on a feed from Jason Kayne. Kayne drove the ball upfield to Majumder, who was able to play the ball into the left side of the box and knock it past Panther keeper Greg Sydor.

Middlebury's best chance to tie the game came in the 78th minute when Tyler Bonini controlled the ball into the box one-on-one with Jumbos goalkeeper Scott Greenwood. His quick shot was saved by a diving Greenwood from about 10 yards out.

Greenwood (one save) posted his fifth shutout of the season for Tufts, while Sydor made three saves for the Panthers in net.