WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Junior Declan Sung scored the winning goal as the #6 Amherst College men's soccer team outlasted the Connecticut College Camels 2-1 in OT to win the NESCAC Championship Sunday on Cole Field.

The NESCAC title was the Mammoths' sixth and first since 2016. They receive an automatic berth into the Div. III NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Div. III Men's Soccer Selection Show airs Monday at 1:30 p.m.

"I couldn't be happier for the guys, they have put so much passion into this season,' Amherst head coach Justin Serpone said.  "I'm especially pumped for Bernie, Nico, Barky and Alex who have led this group with so much intention. Connecticut College is a great team who fought hard this whole season overcoming injuries and grinding out results. Part of winning a championship is defending it with pride and they wore the belt well, they really did. I have deep respect for their senior class and their place in NESCAC soccer history is cemented."

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* After narrowly overcoming the Middlebury College Panthers 2-1 in OT in the semifinals, Amherst had less than 24 hours to recover and prepare for the final versus the Connecticut College Camels. Conn beat the #8 Bowdoin College Polar Bears and the Williams College Ephs - both via penalty kicks - during their route to the final. Conn finished eighth in the regular season NESCAC standings and held a record of 7-5-5. 

* The game began with little signs of fatigue as both sides demonstrated impressive stamina after their games were extended to OT the day before. Declan Sung opened Amherst's shot tally with a blocked effort before sophomore Niall Murphy gave Conn's goalkeeper, Peter Silvester, his first save of the game to make. Conn failed to have a single shot during the first 40 minutes but, against the run of play, they took the lead. Oliver Pinyochon assisted Alex Robles for his second goal of the season. Amherst returned to search for a goal but the score remained 1-0 to Conn until half-time.

* Amherst's goalkeeper, senior Bernie White, made his first save of the game less than a minute into the second half before Amherst created an equalizing goal in the 58th minute. On the right side of the field, Amherst's Student-Athlete of the Month, sophomore Ben Clark Eden, beat a Conn opponent with a one-two passing move with sophomore Micah Valadez-Bush. Clark-Eden then crossed the ball into the penalty box. Shawn Rapal jumped upwards and used his 6'8" height advantage to glance the ball into the left side of the goal. The ball bounced off the post as it drifted past the goalkeeper. With the score 1-1, both sides fought to take the lead but couldn't convert chances into an all-important second goal. Sophomore Aidan Curtis was relied upon in the 81st minute with successive blocks. 

* It took 96 minutes for Amherst to earn their second goal of the game. The Mammoths took the lead for the first time in the game with a sublime move from the right side. Sophomore Fynn Hayton-Ruffner laid the ball off to Valadez-Bush who curled a first-time cross into the penalty box. The floated pass beat everyone around the goal line except for junior Declan Sung, who rushed into the box to power a diving header into the back of the net. In a nerve-wracking conclusion to the game which included a last-gasp Bernie White Save, Amherst came away with a 2-1 win. The Mammoths will next head into the NCAA Championship with a lot of confidence and as the 2022 NESCAC Championship winner.



BY THE NUMBERS:

* Amherst now holds a 12-1-5 overall record (4-1-5 in NESCAC regular season; 3-0-0 in NESCAC post-season) for the season. 

* The Mammoths took 13 shots (7 on goal); Conn took 8 shots (8 on goal).

* Up next: Up next: Amherst will look forward to the NCAA Championship. The field will consist of 64 teams and begin on November 12. Details TBA.

"We just played two of the best teams in the country in consecutive overtime games so we need to rest up pretty quickly before NCAA's," Serpone said. "We're going to enjoy this first though, championships don't happen often."