The Middlebury men's soccer team (11-4-3) used a thrilling final surge with just over three minutes to play, posting a 1-0 win over SUNY Oneonta (10-4-3) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Lancaster, Pa. The Panthers postseason run continues into the second round tomorrow against fourth-ranked Franklin & Marshall, who topped SUNY Poly 5-0 in the first game of the doubleheader.

After a scoreless opening half, the Red Dragons turned up the pressure in the second period, outshooting Middlebury 14-8, and forcing five saves from goalkeeper Ryan Grady. No save was bigger for the second-year keeper than his final one. After a turnover at midfield by the Panthers, Oneonta charged down the left wing. The Red Dragons defender slid a pass to Jeremy Pantoni at the top of the Middlebury penalty box. Pantoni turned and rifled a shot on goal, but Grady dove to his left to knock the shot away with 86:36 on the clock.

The save by Grady was just the beginning, as the Panthers quickly began to go the other way on the counter. Andrew Juarez collected the ball just over midfield and carried it down the left side. He split the Red Dragons' defense with a pass, finding the feet of Jordan Saint-Louis at the left corner of the Oneonta penalty box. Saint-Louis touched the pass around one defender and then laid the ball back across the goal. Shane Farrell ran onto the service and, in stride, one-timed it into the empty net for the game-winning goal at the 86:55 mark. 

Grady tallied his 11th shutout of the season to move him into sole possession of third for single-season clean sheets in program history. He remains in the top-10 in Division III in goals-against average (.37) and save percentage (.894). Nate Hanna made six saves for Oneonta during the contest.