NEW LONDON, Conn. – Gavin Mpiana's (Cape Town, South Africa) 77th minute goal kept the Connecticut College men's soccer team unbeaten, as the Camels came away with a 1-1 draw against No. 3 Middlebury College Sunday on Freeman Field in a battle of unbeaten teams. With the draw Conn moves to 9-0-4 overall and 4-0-4 in NESCAC play, while Middlebury moves to 9-0-4 overall and 5-0-3 in conference play.

The two nationally ranked teams battled it out, in an evenly played affair, as Middlebury (9-0-4, 5-0-3) tallied the first shot of the game at 2:04. Conn (9-0-3, 4-0-4) answered just a minute and a half later with their first shot, but Marco Cerezo (Malaga, Spain) put his effort wide. The squads traded shots for the half, but only one shot from Middlebury ended up on target, as Peter Silvester (Smiths Parish, Bermuda) made the only save of the half at 41:39. The game headed to the break scoreless.

The Panthers started the second half with the first two shots, but both efforts were blocked by Camel defenders. Conn got their first shot on target at 53:12, but Mpiana's strike was saved. With just under 30 minutes to play, Middlebury was awarded a free kick just outside the Conn 18-yard box, and Tyler Payne curled a shot over the wall, to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 60:15.

Following the opening goal from Middlebury, the Camels stepped up their pressure. Over the following 10 minutes, Conn recorded five shots, but were unable to beat Ryan Grady in the Panthers goal. With 13 and a half minutes left, Matt Scoffone (Thornton, Pa.) curled a shot that Grady saved onto the post, but Mpiana followed it up beautifully, collecting the rebound, and tying the game at 76:26. Neither team found a winning goal in the final stretch, as the squads settled for the 1-1 draw.

Middlebury outshot Conn 14-12 overall and had a 7-0 advantage on corner kicks, while Conn held the edge on shots on goal 4-3.

Silvester got the start in goal, making two saves on three shots. Mpiana paced the Camels, recording Conn's lone goal, while also tallying two shots with both efforts on target.

Grady got the start between the sticks, making three saves on four shots. Payne led Middlebury tallying the Panthers only goal.

The Camels head back on the road for a NESCAC matchup on Saturday against Bates at 2:00 p.m. in Lewiston, Me.