Men's soccer pulls out win in rainy conditions

In rain, mud, and overall abominable conditions, the men's soccer team squeaked out a much needed 3-2 victory in overtime against those fighting cocks known as the Trinity Bantams. Tufts rebounded like Rodman to end a three game slide against NESCAC opponents while also cooling off a hot Trinity team that came into the game winning its last two.

"When you get bad weather it's harder on the defenders than the forwards," coach Ralph Ferrigno said.

The mud and rain mix made it difficult to control the ball, but the Jumbos still came out strong. Junior tri-captain Mike Blea stepped up from his defensive position to score his second goal of the season. Blea's goal was the only one of the half, leaving Tufts up 1-0 heading into the second stanza of play.

Trinity was never down by more than one goal the entire game. Junior midfielder John Klaus scored the equalizer in the second half to push the game to a 1-1 tie. After that, a star emerged: freshman forward Todd Gilbert scored his first of two goals midway through the second to regain the lead for Tufts 2-1.

"There is not really extra pressure because you are expected to make mistakes," Gilbert said of being a freshman. "As an attacker you are expected to score goals. It's just even better at this level if you are a freshman."

With Tufts playing defensive ball to prevent overtime, the worst happened. A Bantam, sophomore forward John Ziadie, struck gold, sending a shot past sophomore goalie Scott Conroy (seven saves) to tie the game 2-2.

Although Tufts held the lead for most of the game, Trinity actually had a legitimate opportunity to win the contest before overtime. With about two minutes left in regulation, a Trinity player sent a corner kick towards the goalie box, drawing out Conroy. But a Bantam got his head on the ball, sending it into an open goal. In what can be considered the play of the game, junior defender Andy Wood stepped into the goal and struck the ball out of harm's way with a blow from his left foot. This was the last of Trinity's regulation time chances, sending the game into sudden death.

The Jumbos wasted very little time to seal the deal in overtime. Trinity never saw the offensive side of the ball as Tufts pushed deep into the Bantam's zone. Gilbert received the ball and then made a series of jukes, causing the Trinity defender to lose his footing. Gilbert then tapped a soft roller past Trinity goalie, junior Michael Doherty, to end the game.

"I always try and do-up defenders in the box," Gilbert said. "And once he slipped I knew it was me against the goalie and I prevailed."

The goal was Gilbert's fourth of the season.

"It felt real nice because I choked in a couple previous games on big shots," Gilbert said. "So to get this one meant a lot to me."

The win moved Tufts up to 3-3 in the NESCAC and 6-3 overall. The team is currently in sixth place in the conference.

"It's the top seven that qualify, with still three games to go for every team," Ferrigno said. "There is a lot that can happen. The old cliche is take it a game at a time, this is very much relevant here."

The Jumbos have won their last two competitions. Today, the men's soccer team puts its trunks on the line against Swarthmore of Pennsylvania. This non-conference match-up brings together two teams of similar schools but different regions.

"It's nice to play an out-of-region team," Ferrigno said. "It's a peer school and I'm sure it will be a good game. From our perspective, it is important we come out to play."