Dale, MacGregor combo fights past Engineers

The men's soccer team can breath a little easier after a 2-1 win at MIT last Wednesday. After beating NESCAC foes Amherst College on Sept. 14, there was a fear of a letdown in a non-conference game. Although MIT was not as strong of an opponent as Amherst was, it took the same determination to put away the feisty competitors.

"We take every game seriously," senior Garrett Dale said. "We are trying to build up to the climax at the end of the season. "

Early on, the Jumbos were dominant as Dale netted his first goal of the season 23 minutes into the first half. Senior tri-captain Matt MacGregor won a head ball to put Dale in a one on one situation with MIT goalie Morgan Mills. Dale smelled blood and pounced, sending a shot into the left corner of the goal.

"It was a nice ice breaker," Dale said. "I'm just ready to help the team as much as I can. "

The Jumbos applied pressure for most of the first half, but MIT tied the game1-1 six minutes before halftime. MIT's Arron Parnes gained possession of a free ball, about 18 yards from Tufts' goal, and sent a shot into the left corner, past junior goalie Joe Coletti, who was starting in place of injured sophomore Scott Conroy.

"Not much Coletti could do," Dale said. "It was a great shot, you have to give him credit for that. "

While a halftime tie was not in the Jumbos' plans, they managed to come together and pull out a win in the second half. Once again, Dale and MacGregor hooked up for the score _ a game winner. This time, it was a Dale pass that set up a MacGregor goal.

Dale won the ball on the right side of the field, 25 yards from the MIT goal, while MacGregor sat wide open in the middle of the field. Dale delivered the ball to him, and with one swoop of his left foot, MacGregor sent the ball into the right corner of the goal.

"We have been playing together for four years _ since day one we have had good chemistry," Dale said. "As you can see from today, he had the assist on my goal and vice versa. "

Although the tandem of Dale and MacGregor highlighted the game, Coletti also had a solid afternoon, saving three shots, in his first career start in goal. The Jumbos' regular starter, Conroy was lost for several weeks after he fractured his elbow last Saturday against Amherst.

"(Conroy) woke up Sunday in severe pain and x-rays showed that (his elbow) was fractured," assistant-coach Justin Dechene said.

Coletti's performance was especially noteworthy because goalie is typically a difficult position to step into, as the net minder is rarely substituted during the flow of a regular game.

"A goal keeper is a position that we mostly do not switch," Dechene said. "You don't substitute somebody in throughout the game. You aren't surprised when a striker comes off the field, but you don't see a goalkeeping change. You usually make a switch because you have two inexperienced players, a player is not doing well, or an injury, and in this case it was an injury. "

Dechene believes the key to being prepared to sub in during a game or to replace an injured starter is for the sub to practice as if he were going to start every game. Whether the practice is for the experience or to simulate the completive edge, the repetition is a must.

"Joe's a very good goal keeper, we have a lot of confidence in him," Dechene said. "We know Joe is a good goalkeeper, we expected him to do well and he did. Joe trains everyday as if he is going to be playing the next game, so when he did get the call he was prepared and did do a good job. "

This Saturday, the Jumbos will host NESCAC foe Connecticut College at 11a. m. on Kraft Field. The Camels proved they are no slouch, hanging with the sixth ranked team in the nation, Williams College on Sept. 14, eventually losing 1-0.

"Any NESCAC game you expect to be very competitive, we have one of the top conferences in the country," Dechene said. "You can't be surprised if a top team losses to a bottom team because there is a lot of parity. We certainly expect to play better on Saturday.