TROY, N.Y. – Sophomore Paul Silva scored in the fifth round of a penalty shootout to send No. 12/14 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) past Middlebury College in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament, on Sunday afternoon at East Campus Stadium. Officially a 0-0 draw, the Engineers are 15-2-4 overall and advance to the Sweet 16, while the Panthers conclude their season at 9-3-8.

After both teams were perfect through three round of the penalty shootout, RPI sophomore goalkeeper Luke Brezak (Camano Island, WA/The Overlake School) guessed correctly on an attempt from Middlebury sophomore Liam Sloan (Harvard, MA/Middlesex School) and got his right hand to it for the save.

Silva (Wayne, NJ/Seton Hall Prep.) then stepped up and buried the deciding kick into to left corner of the net, sending RPI to its first Sweet 16 appearance in program history.

A tightly contested game throughout, the Engineers had the better of play for large portions of the opening 45 minutes.

The Panthers did register the first shot, however, as Brezak was forced into action in the 15th minute. Middlebury junior Jacob LaBranche (Eastham, MA/Nauset Regional) had a go from the top of the box that was headed for the low left side of the net, but Brezak was able to keep it out and hold.

RPI then had back-to-back set pieces in the 27th and 28th minutes, but a header from junior Trevor Bisson (Baton Rouge, LA/Episcopal) and shot from senior Austin Betterly (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh) were stopped by Middlebury freshman goalkeeper Ryan Grady (Deerfield, IL/Deerfield).

Freshman Josh Gaudiano (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa) then challenged Grady with a shot in the 38th minute, but he was able to keep that out as well.

Midway through the second half, junior midfielder Michael Harten (Merrick, NY/Sanfour H. Calhoun) collected a loose ball at the top of the 18 and ripped a knuckling right-footed shot that Grady got both hands behind.

The Panther best chance in the second half came in the 65th minute, when freshman Jacob Charles (Sherborn, MA/St. Sebastian's) got in behind the RPI defense on the right, but his shot was parried away by the right foot of Brezak.

With the game still tied after 90 minutes, overtime ensued and both teams registered one attempt in the first 10 minutes. Middlebury sophomore Brandon Barry (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield) missed wide right of the RPI net, while shooting out of a crowd in the 99th minute, before Harten saw his shot miss the target a minutes later.

In the second overtime, Barry found some room on the left side of the Engineers penalty area, but Brezak was able to hold onto his left-footed shot that came from outside the six in the 104th minute.

RPI had two late chances to end the game, including a cross from Silva in the 107th minute that flash across the face of goal, that no one could get a touch on. A minute later, Harten had a clearing attempt find him at the top of the 18, but his half volley sailed over the top of the net.

The Engineers finished with a 16-9 advantage in shots, but Middlebury had more on target, 5-4. RPI won the corner battle, 10-3.

Brezak (10-0-4) made five saves to register his sixth shutout, while Grady (9-3-7) had four saves to collect his ninth clean sheet of the season.

RPI advances to its first ever Sweet 16, where it will face Messiah College for the first time, on Saturday at Amherst College (1:30pm).