WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Amherst College men's soccer team tied 0-0 with the #23 Williams College Ephs on Saturday afternoon on Cole Field.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* Amherst dominated the first half. The away side had ten shots - nine more than the Ephs' singular effort. Sophomore Niall Murphy took the first shot of the game and tested the WIlliams goalkeeper, Ben Diffley. Williams' only shot of the half was less than two minutes after Murphy's effort  - Senior Bernie White was forced to make a save to keep the score 0-0. The Mammoths were immediately back on the front foot and the next shots comprised a wide strike from Sophomore Finn Hayton-Ruffner and a header over the bar from Junior Declan Sung.

* The next twenty minutes occurred without a shot and consisted of lots of battling by each side to recover possession in the center of the field. Junior Ada Okorogheye was next to aim for goal but his attempt was blocked. The first half continued in this fashion with Amherst dominating possession and looking the most likely to open the scoring but unable to convert a number of chances. 

* Within ten minutes of the second half, Amherst Sophomore Laurens ten Cate was sanctioned two yellow cards and was therefore sent off; this left Amherst with the disadvantage of having only 10 men on the field for the game's remainder. Williams didn't capitalize on their numerical advantage and activity in Amherst's penalty box was infrequent. 

* Amherst looked a constant attacking threat from both open-play and set-piece moves but Williams' defense remained strong. With a minute to go until the final whistle blew, Amherst had one of the most promising scoring chances of the game when a cross from the byline targeted Junior Shawn Rapal's 6'8 frame in the middle of a congested penalty box. The Ephs' goalkeeper then reached above Rapal to catch the ball to diffuse the situation. 

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Amherst now holds a 5-1-3 overall record (1-1-3 in NESCAC) for the season.

* Up next: Amherst will play their fifth and final consecutive away game on Tuesday; the Mammoths will take on non-conference opponents, the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers at Alumni Stadium at 7pm.

* The Mammoths took 13 shots (6 on goal); the Ephs took 6 (4 on goal).