Senior forward Josh Kirkland scored a pair of goals in regulation, and junior Will Rissing provided the clincher in a penalty kick shooutout to lift the University of Mary Washington men's soccer team over host Amherst College on Saturday to advance to the NCAA national quarterfinals. The Eagles, 12-4-4 on the season, will face either Bowdoin College on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Eagles struck quickly on Saturday against the Mammoths, as Kirkland scored less than one minute into the contest on an assist from senior Abel Luwis. Then, in the 31st minute, Kirkland took a free kick from Diego Guzman that was headed by Aidan Shell and found the nets again to give the Eagles a 2-0 cushion.

Amherst battled back, however, scoring minutes before halftime, to draw to within 2-1, and again in the 65th minute to knot the score. Then even more fireworks started, as first the Eagles and then the Mammoths saw players draw red cards. After the Amherst red, UMW's shot by Nelsar Castillo hit the goal post, and down the stretch, the Eagles drew a penalty kick but were unsuccessful, sending the game to overtime.

After the scoreless 20 extra minutes, the Eagles competed in a shootout for the second time this postseason. After Amherst's first shot was saved by UMW keeper Griffin Hemmendinger, Jacob Kautzman was successful, and in round two, Hemmendinger again provided a save, and Juan Vargas connected on his attempt to put UMW ahead, 2-0, after two rounds. 

After Amherst scored on their third attempt, Guzman scored as well, and Amherst drew to within 3-2 midway through five rounds with a successful fifth attempt. That put Rissing's try as the clincher as his shot eluded the diving attempt from the Amherst keeper, and sent UMW to the national quarterfinals.

The Eagles victory sends UMW to the quarterfinals for the third time in program history, as the Eagles advanced to the quarters in 1989, and the national semifinals in 1997. The loss for Amerst will snap a streak of two straight appearances in the national championship game for the Mammoths.

Sunday's quarterfinal match will kick off at 1:00 p.m. LIVE STATS and VIDEO LINKS at Amherst.