AMHERST, Mass. -- Senior captain German Giammattei scored the lone goal to lift the Amherst College men's soccer team to a return trip to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 1-0 win over NESCAC rival Middlebury College in the quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at Hitchcock Field.

The Mammoths (16-2-2) will be making their fifth overall appearance in the national semifinals and earned a spot among the final four teams for the second straight tournament after a run to the national championship game the last time the tournament was held in 2019. Amherst will face Chicago in the semifinals on Friday, Dec. 3, at 7:45 p.m. in Greensboro, North Carolina, with the winner advancing to the national championship game the next day.

"It's something that we've been thinking about for 23 months now and getting back to North Carolina with one goal in mind, that's to win the next game," said senior captain Sebastian Derby. "I know it means a lot for the seniors who took time off to come back. We're all thrilled to be going back to North Carolina again."

"No one thinks we're any good but we're one of the last four teams playing so we're going to just keep getting better, doing our best and cherish the fact that we're going to be together for the next two weeks," said head coach Justin Serpone, who is seeking his second national championship after leading Amherst to the title in 2015. "Just couldn't be prouder of these guys, especially this senior class. Looking forward to North Carolina."

In a game that matched the two stingiest defenses in all of Division III, the Mammoths notched their second 1-0 win of the season against the Panthers, who end their season at 13-5-3.

"Always credit to my back line, they're all seniors, they've all been here before, they're all experienced and they protect me," said senior goalkeeper Kofi Hope-Gund, who made a season-high 9 saves to earn his 7th shutout of the season. "It starts with the front of the field too, from strikers to the midfielders to the back line, everybody put in a shift today, even the bench guys, everybody's energy mattered. It took a full effort for 90 minutes from all 32 guys."

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• Giammattei's goal came shortly before halftime in the 44th minute when the striker collected a pass and worked his way around two Middlebury defenders before firing a shot for his team-leading 12th goal of the season. The reigning Division III national player of the year was involved in all five goals the Mammoths scored this weekend after tallying a hat trick and an assist in Saturday's 4-1 win over SUNY Cortland.
• The Panthers outshot the Mammoths, 8-0, in the second half but Hope-Gund made several spectacular saves to preserve the shutout.

BY THE NUMBERS

• With their 14th shutout of the season, the Mammoths have allowed only 8 goals all season, the fewest of any team in Division III.
• The Panthers held a 14-12 edge in shots with all 12 Amherst shots coming in the first half.
• Middlebury had a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks, but neither team could convert a corner opportunity into a goal.