The #8 Middlebury men's soccer team surrendered a first-half goal at second-ranked Amherst, but Jordan Saint-Louis found the back of the net in the 67th minute to deadlock the Panthers and Mammoths at 1-1.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The first half was a defensive battle with scoring opportunities hard to come by. The initial attempt of the match came in the 13th minute when Fynn Hayton-Ruffner laced a right-footed shot toward the left post that Panther goalie Ryan Grady corralled.
• Near the midway point of the opening stanza, a header on a free kick by Amherst's Ben Clark-Eden was saved by Grady moving to his right.
• The Mammoths broke into the scoring column with 28:01 elapsed when Niall Murphy scored on an assist from Aidan Curtis.
• The Panthers had their best scoring chance two minutes later, as a long cross was headed by Casey Lund from 10 yards out, but Mammoth goalie Bernie White denied the attempt, preserving the one-goal edge heading into intermission.
• Middlebury applied early pressure after the break, as a shot from Ben Powers just outside the 18-yard box was deflected by an Amherst defender and went wide right.
• The Mammoths had a good scoring chance in the 51st minute when Hayton-Ruffner drove a shot from the right, but Grady thwarted the opportunity.
• In the 55th minute on a set piece, a shot from the left by Middlebury's Kyle Nilsson sailed high to the right.
• Soon after that, a rising shot from 30 yards out off the foot of Middlebury's Eujin Chae was punched over the crossbar by White.
• In the 66th minute, Gavin Randolph looked to draw the Panthers even with a right-footed volley from 15 yards, but White made a great save.
• Middlebury knotted the match at 1-1 in the 67th minute. Tyler Payne sent a perfect through ball to a sprinting Saint-Louis down the left side. Saint-Louis warded off his defender on the run, sending a left-footed blast past a diving White into the lower-left corner of the goal at the 66:40 mark.
• Amherst produced a couple of quality chances in the final 20 minutes, but a strong Middlebury defense held its ground to earn the 1-1 draw.

NOTES

• With Saturday's result, the Panthers and Mammoths have each won 15 contests and the teams have tied seven times since 2001.
• The match stayed true to form as a defensive battle, as neither side has scored more than one goal in any meeting since 2014.