The men's soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the NESCAC Tournament yesterday in dramatic fashion, edging out the Wesleyan Cardinals in a sudden death shootout in Middlebury, VT. With the score tied at three, the game went through 60 minutes of overtime play and one round of penalty kicks before senior Pat Brophy saved the Jumbos from elimination on the second shot of the sudden death round.
After four scoreless overtimes, the teams went on to a round of penalty kicks, where the deadlock prevailed and both squads scored on four of five attempts. Then in the sudden death round, the Jumbos scored on their first two shots while Wesleyan missed its second, giving Tufts the win and a date with Middlebury in the semifinals this Saturday.
Tufts, which held a 22-12 advantage in the shot count, looked as though it had things wrapped up in regulation. With just under 13 minutes remaining, sophomore Brian Mikel scored to give the Jumbos a 3-2 lead. The goal, an unassisted tally, stood to be the game winner until Wesleyan's Nick Vincent sent the contest into overtime with a mere 36 seconds showing on the clock.
Senior tri-captain Brad Stitchberry put the Jumbos on the board at 9:20 of the first half on an assist from Mikel. Wesleyan then scored two of its own and held a 2-1 advantage until Stitchberry struck again to even things with ten minutes to go in the first half. The goal was Stitchberry's fifth of the season and fourth in the last five games.
The teams then went almost 33 minutes until the scoreless drought broken by Mikel's third goal of the season. Vincent's goal, also his second of the game, incited another scoring dry spell that lasted until the penalty kicks.
Tufts goalie Scott Conroy was credited with eight saves, while his Wesleyan counterpart, Dan Penrod, registered seven.
The Jumbos will travel to Williamstown, MA, for their semifinal match on Saturday at a time to be announced. The finals will be played the following day.
