The men's soccer team jumped into a tie with Trinity for fourth place in the NESCAC with a 2-1 win over the Bowdoin Polar Bears on a rain filled Saturday. The victory distanced the squad from the memory of its previous NESCAC game, a 2-1 loss to Bates on Sept. 29.
Senior co-captain Mike Prindiville scored the second goal of his college career in the 78th minute of the contest to win it for the Jumbos. The goal came after Prindiville recovered a poorly cleared ball and drilled a shot from 25 yards out that dribbled past the Bowdoin goalie and into the left side of the net, setting off a raucous celebration. Following his score, Prindiville ripped his shirt off and ran over to the stands.
"It was an absolutely brilliant goal," junior co-captain Matt MacGregor said. "It was great to see. He holds together the [defensive] backs and for him to be able to score was great."
Prindiville's game-winner would have been impossible had it not been for MacGregor's play in the first half. In the 25th minute of play, MacGregor stole the ball from a Bowdoin midfielder and then junior forward Garrett Dale quickly gained control of the ball and sent it towards MacGregor and the goal. MacGregor beat the sliding goalie, sending a ball over the keeper and into the left side of the goal.
"It was really a great way to start us off," MacGregor said. "The play had been kind of even and Garrett played a great ball. With the bad conditions it was really windy so you never know what could happen. So going up was a big advantage for the rest of play."
Bowdoin was unable to score until the 71st minute of action when David Bulow converted a free kick from the top of the box. The free kick was called when sophomore defender Mike Blea tackled Bowdoin's Bobby Dislets and was whistled for a foul.
Blea's foul was one of the few blemishes on Tufts' inspiring defensive performance. Sophomore Andy Wood replaced junior starting back Rupak Datta, who sat out the game due to a pulled quad muscle. But about ten minutes into the contest, Wood suffered a cut over his left eye that required stitches and forced him to sit out the remainder of the match. Coach Ralph Ferrigno brought in sophomore Craig Gelormini, who held his own despite little varsity game experience.
"Gelormini played amazing in the back," MacGregor said. "It was his first really big game that he stepped into. It was great to see that he played like that," he said. "When Craig came into the game [the other defenders] brought him right in and they gave a great performance."
Freshman keeper Scott Conroy maintained his string of solid performances, allowing only one goal while making seven saves.
The win was significant for the Jumbos because had they lost, their NESCAC record would have fallen under .500 and could have severely hindered their chances of qualifying for the postseason NESCAC tournament. "Anytime you have a big NESAC win it's great but with this situation it's even better," MacGregor said.
"We put ourselves in a good position to get a great playoff spot but we need to get a few more wins in the next few weeks," he said. "This sets things up for the rest of the season."
