AMHERST, Mass. – Greg Singer '16 netted what stood as the game-winning goal just 2:15 into the contest as the second-seeded Amherst College men's soccer team held off No. 7 Colby College in Saturday afternoon's NESCAC Quarterfinal contest at Hitchcock Field.

With the win, Amherst improves to 12-1-3 on the season and advances to its fourth straight NESCAC semifinal contest. The Jeffs now host No. 8 Connecticut College which upended top-seeded Tufts University, 2-1, to punch its ticket to the semifinals. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m. at Hitchcock Field on Saturday, Nov. 8. Colby concludes its season, 7-6-3 overall.

Amherst got off to a quick start as Singer received a pass into the box from Aziz Khan '18 and fired a shot past Colby net-minder John Pappas at the 2:15 mark to give the Jeffs an early lead.

The Purple & White continued to apply heavy pressure on the Mules' goal in the first stanza, firing 18 shots in the first 45 minutes, but the Colby defense was able to get in the way of several attempts on target, and Pappas made six saves to keep the score at 1-0.

In the second half, Amherst held a narrow 4-3 edge in shots in the second half as Colby was able to muster some pressure in its offensive third of the field. The Mules earned a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks in the second half, and had their best opportunity for the equalizer when Aaron Liu headed the ball towards goal, but Jeffs' goalkeeper Thomas Bull '16 was there to deny the effort.

Christopher Martin '17 finished with five shots for Amherst, and Bryce Ciambella '17 added four shots in the winning effort.

Stellar defensive work by Ciambella, Gabriel Wirz '15, Cameron Bean '17, Justin Aoyama '17, Rohan Sood '17 and Andrew Orozco '17 kept Colby out of its offensive end for much of the contest.