On an unseasonably warm autumn day, the Tufts men's soccer team overcame a second half breakdown to defeat NESCAC rival Wesleyan on a sudden death overtime goal by Matt MacGregor. The win improved the Jumbos' record to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in NESCAC play. After beating Bowdoin 2-1 on Saturday, yesterday's victory was the Jumbos' second crucial NESCAC win this week.
"We've been playing really well as a team since the letdown against Bates," MacGregor said. "Our defense as a unit is playing well, and people are starting to step up."
Tufts came out strong in the first half. In the 24th minute, sophomore midfielder Alex Berg fed MacGregor, who grounded a goal past Wesleyan keeper Dan Penrod.
"Alex gave me a perfect ball along the left side, and I just one-touched it," MacGregor said. "I sent it to the far right of the goal, their keeper got a little piece of it, but luckily it had enough strength to get by him."
The Jumbos took the 1-0 lead into halftime, after playing perhaps their best half of the season, dominating play in all aspects. "We played a great first half," said tri-captain Mike Prindiville. "We were calm and composed. We were battling well and getting to every ball."
But as the second half began, it looked as if a different Jumbo squad had come on the field. Wesleyan controlled the entire half. In the 59th minute of play, the Cardinals tied the game, when Tufts freshman goalie Scott Conroy dropped to his right to save a blast from Wesleyan freshman Michael Ryan, and senior R.T. Treveloni deposited the rebound.
For the duration of regulation, the two teams battled to no avail. Wesleyan dominated play, but was unable to gain the lead. The game became very physical, with both teams receiving yellow cards.
"Everything really fell apart for us in the second half," Prindiville said. "It wasn't so much a let-down of skill, but it was mental," he said. "We very easily could have won this game 4-1. There's no way we can play like that and expect wins."
"We totally lost our composure after halftime," said coach Ralph Ferrigno. "I give Wesleyan some credit. They could have been dead and buried after the first half, but they came out with some intensity. But there's no excusing how we played."
But the Jumbos responded in overtime and were able to ground the Cardinals. In the 97th minute, MacGregor and leading scorer Garrett Dale completed a beautiful give-and-go. After winning a midfield ball, Macgregor fed Dale in the middle. MacGregor darted up the left side, beating his defender, and creating an open passing lane. Dale fed the ball perfectly back to the streaking MacGregor who grounded it by the Wesleyan keeper. The entire Tufts squad piled on MacGregor, who fell to the ground more in relief than in celebration. "It was a beautiful ball from Garrett," MacGregor said. "He made it easy for me."
Tufts next sets its sights on Trinity, which visits Medford on Saturday afternoon. The Jumbos will attempt to complete a three-game sweep of NESCAC opponents this week, but Trinity will be no pushover. "Every game in this league is a battle," MacGregor said. "But Trinity always plays us tough."
"I've seen Trinity play, and they play good soccer," Ferrigno said. "If we play like we did today, we certainly won't get results.
