Men's soccer escapes with narrow victory

Yesterday's 2-1 men's soccer victory over Salve Regina can be compared to the Baltimore Ravens last two nationally televised games. The Jumbos had an overwhelming amount of offense in the first half, but played just enough defense to squeak out a victory in the end.

"We played well in the first half," senior tri-captain Matt McGregor said. "Second half we were absolutely horrible."

About 25 minutes into the game, the Jumbos drew first blood. Senior Garrett Dale netted his fifth goal of the season on a free kick five yards outside of the goalie box. Salve Regina goalie Jason Keough had no chance to stop the shot as the ball hooked in.

With the game set at 1-0, junior midfielder Brian Mikel dribbled around four Seahawk defenders and sent a shot into the goal, pushing Tufts lead to 2-0.

But even with the two goals in the first half, the team was not content. The Jumbos felt they had Salve Regina on the ropes and could have put the team away.

"We created a lot of chances in the first half, but we didn't finish like we should have," McGregor said.

"I thought the first half we passed well," junior defender Andy Wood said. "We could have scored more to wrap it up."

The second half was a far cry from the pressure the Jumbos put on the Seahawks in the first. The team lost its momentum and surrendered a goal with 35 minutes left in the contest. Salve Regina's leading scorer, Jerrod Anderson, received a centering pass into the box and beat sophomore goalie Scott Conroy.

"[Salve Regina] is a decent opponent based on its second half performance," coach Ralph Ferrigno said.

The Seahawks, only down 2-1 at this point, started playing like a completely different team. They advanced into Jumbos territory and put a barrage of centering passes and corner kicks on the Tufts goal. Towards the end of the match, Tufts had multiple opportunities to put the game away, but hit post on two shots.

"We're happy we got a win," McGregor said. "As far as a 2-1 victory, we should have beat this team by a lot more."

Junior tri-captain Jesse Dinner made a series of several skillful moves to feed Mikel, who barely missed his second goal of the game. A touch later, Dale had a narrow opening for a goal and struck post _ typical of the luck the Jumbos have had in recent games.

"We have several players who can score," Ferrigno said. "Hopefully that department will come."

Conroy returned to goal last Saturday, replacing junior Joe Coletti, who served as a replacement while Conroy was on the injured reserve with a fractured elbow. Ferrigno, the coach , believes that Conroy is one of the best goalies in the conference, but Coletti was able to hold down the fort in his absence.

"I feel just as confident with Joe as in Scott," Wood, the defender, said. "Both are good goalies and distribute the ball well."

The defense claims some of the blame for some of the goals given up recently. During the first four games, when Tufts was 4-0, defenders surrendered only four total goals. The last four games, the Jumbos have gone 1-3, giving up twice as many goals.

"We have had a couple of lapses in concentration," Wood said. "And they've succeeded in finishing their chances."

Ferrigno plans on improving all aspects of the game in order to defeat conference foe Trinity. The Jumbos will travel to Hartford, CT this Saturday to engage in battle with the Fighting Cocks known as the Bantams.