MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Senior Kellan Grace and sophomore JJ Ruehlemann generated second-half goals for the ninth-ranked Williams College men's soccer team Tuesday afternoon, as the Ephs went on the road and outlasted No. 1 Middlebury, 2-1, at the South Street Field.

"I am incredibly proud of every student-athlete and how much effort they put into the game," said sixth-year head coach Steffen Siebert. "I could not be happier they got the reward they deserved today."

The Ephs (10-2-2, 6-2-2 NESCAC) earned the second seed in the NESCAC Tournament and will host seventh-seeded Wesleyan on Saturday during the quarterfinal round at 12:30 p.m. on Cole Field. Williams was the first team to defeat the Panthers (10-1-3, 6-1-3 NESCAC) this season.

During the 65th minute, Williams founds its way onto the scoreboard, as Grace scored directly off a corner kick from the left attacking side, curving a shot into the back of the net.

Williams established some breathing room during the 73rd minute. The sequence began with a touch by sophomore Kai Desmangles in the midfield area to Grace, who then launched a through ball down the field. Ruehlemann caught up with the pass and dribbled around the goalkeeper before burying a shot into the wide-open net for a 2-0 advantage.

The Panthers trimmed the Ephs' lead down to 2-1 with 11:24 remaining in regulation when Will Sawin netted a penalty-kick opportunity into the right side of the goal.

Junior goalkeeper Kai Darrell, who improved to 10-2-2 on the season, made six saves in the victory, including a pair of outstanding stops during the 20th minute. He deflected a rocket from the top of the 18-yard box, and then followed up the effort by corralling a header shot from point-blank range.

During the 51st minute, senior defender Leon Ma came up huge for Williams, making an outstanding team save as the last line of defense on a shot by Colin Dugan.

The Ephs defeated the Panthers for the first time since Williams outlasted then-20th-ranked Middlebury on its home field by a score of 1-0 on Oct. 25, 2022. On Tuesday, Middlebury held a 27-12 advantage in shots and a 9-2 lead in corner kicks.