The Middlebury men's soccer team challenged third-ranked Tufts (9-0-2, 5-0-2) for 110 minutes with the NESCAC contest ending in a scoreless tie on Sunday at South Street Field. The Panthers (7-2-1, 4-2-1) play a non-conference game on Wednesday, hosting Eastern Nazarene at 3:00 p.m., while Tufts is idle until Saturday with a home tilt with Amherst.
The Jumbos had a good opportunity to get on the scoreboard just over seven minutes into the contest, as Sean Traynor fired a shot from inside that penalty area that Panther keeper Ryan Grady dove to his right to collect. Middlebury threatened with 4:10 left in the half when Jonah Roberts crossed the ball from the right wing that teammate Tyler Payne headed over the net.
The Panthers, who were reduced to only 10 players with 30:08 left in the second half due to a red card, nearly grabbed the lead a minute later. Brandon Reid set up Noah Hannam in the penalty area, and his low shot seemed destined for the lower-right corner, but Tufts goalie Erik Lauta dove to punch the ball away. The best scoring chance for the Jumbos came with less than four minutes left in regulation when Zachary Seigelstein quickly turned on a ball in the area that Grady knocked down with the defense clearing the rebound to set up overtime.
In the first extra 10-minute session, Grady saw the only two shots on goal, gathering both attempts.
Tufts' Calvin Aroh provided the best scoring opportunity for either team in the second overtime, lacing a shot from inside the penalty area over the net.
Grady finished with five saves, while Lauta had a pair of stops for the Jumbos as each goalie picked up their sixth shutout of the season.
The visitors held a 17-11 advantage in shots and an 8-5 edge in corner kicks.
