MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Keagan Harder had the ball deflect off his shin and into the net with 6:15 left in regulation to give the No. 3 Middlebury men's soccer team a 1-0 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 on Saturday morning. 

The loss ends the CMS season at 16-4-3, matching its deepest tournament run since 1985 (along with the 2019 team) by winning a regional and advancing to the NCAA sectionals. Middlebury (17-1-3) will move on to face the Trinity-Babson winner tomorrow in the sectional finals. 

The game-winning goal was an unlucky break for the Stags, which came after Middlebury's Kyle Nilsson played a cross into the middle of the box. CMS was the first to it and went to clear it from danger, but the ball deflected off the shin of Harder and bounced inside the left post for the only goal of the game. 

Middlebury had more of the possession over the course of the game, but the CMS defense held stout and the Stags had the more dangerous chances when they were able to get into the offensive end. The Stags nearly got on the board midway through the first half when Rafael Otero was denied in close by Joey Waterman in the 20th minute. Then in the closing seconds of the first half, CMS nearly scored on a counter, as Shaan Malik played a perfect cross to the top of the six, but the Stags weren't able to get enough on the shot and it bounced to  Waterman for a save. 

In the second half, Otero created some dangerous chances in the middle of the field, finding John Laidlaw from 12 yards out, who had his one-timer saved by Waterman in the 58th minute. In the 62nd minute, Otero had a shot from 20 yards that whistled just inches wide of the left post. 

Otero was then lost for the final 12 minutes of regulation with an injury and the Panthers were able to take advantage of his absence for the game-winner. Waterman finished with four saves for Middlebury to get the shutout, while Demarest finished with three for the Stags. Middlebury had the overall edge in shots at 12-7, with each team putting four shots on frame.  

CMS will have to replace a big senior class next year, led by Otero, but also including many other key members of this season's success, including starting defender Nico Del Villar, and starting defensive midfielders Tommy Brown and Lukas Huntington. Liam Hall, Salvador Leon, Nico Monsalve, Jacoby Lockman, Luca Wahlberg and Nate Kim will also graduate from this year's squad, but the Stags will return All-SCIAC performers Shaan Malik, John Laidlaw and James Gomez as they try to get back to the national stage.