Jumbos notch critical 2-1 victory over Wesleyan

After a disappointing loss at Williams last Saturday, the Jumbos snatched a victory from the Wesleyan Cardinals Tuesday afternoon in Middletown, Connecticut in NESCAC action.

The 2-1 win moves Tufts to 5-4-2 on the season with a 3-3-1 (.500) league mark. The Jumbos now have sole possession of fifth place in the NESCAC as Wesleyan drops to sixth. The top seven teams in the league qualify for the NESCAC championship tournament that will begin November 2.

"[This win] was a good way to bounce back after the poor result of the weekend," associate head coach Andy Nelson said. "We defended very well as a team and created our own luck."

Defense was the name of the game on Tuesday as the Jumbos kept the Cardinals to just one goal out of 29 shots.

"It was a good game from a defending standpoint," Nelson said. "We now know that we can defend very deep in our end and do a good job of it."

It was the offense, however, that stole the spotlight early on in the game. Just 5:04 in, Tufts got the ball forward to freshman Ben Castellot. The quick-footed first year took on a Cardinal defender and ripped a shot from about 18 yards. The ball sailed into the back of the net for Castellot's fourth goal in as many games, putting Jumbos on top 1-0.

"Ben's been playing great," senior quad-captain Jesse Dinner said. "He was having a little trouble in the beginning of the season; now he's showing to be one of the most dangerous players in the conference."

"[Castellot] has had more chances to score in the last few games," Nelson said. "We are creating chances for him."

Tufts locked in defensively after Castellot's goal.

"After we scored, we dropped off and went into a defensive shell for pretty much the rest of the game," Dinner said.

It appeared Tufts would go into the halftime intermission clinging to the one goal lead. However, senior Cardinal Tivon Sidorsky capitalized just eight seconds before the halftime whistle to even the score with the help of a Tufts defensive lapse and a pass from junior Mike Ryan.

In the second half, Tufts continued to buckle down defensively and keep Wesleyan away from the goal.

"We limited them to only a handful of good chances," Nelson said. "[Wesleyan] had lots of shots from outside the box."

75 percent of Wesleyan's shots missed the goal completely. Junior quad-captain goalkeeper Scott Conroy was forced to make eleven saves on the day, but was helped by Tufts' tenacious D deep in its own territory.

The score remained tied at one with the two squads battling back and forth until the 72nd minute, when sophomore Mike Guigli had a one-on-one with a Cardinal defender. Guigli shot for the far post, but the ball fell at the feet of senior quad-captain Mike Blea. The Wesleyan goalie was caught out of position, allowing Blea to tap in his fourth goal of the year.

With the 2-1 advantage, the Tufts defense shut down the Cardinal offense for the remaining minutes of the game. This crucial NESCAC win sets the stage for what will be an exciting remaining few weeks of the season.

"It was a great effort by the team; a much needed win." Dinner said.

Tufts will continue on its road to the playoffs against fourth place Middlebury on Saturday at home. With William, Amherst and Bowdoin as virtual playoff shoe-ins, this weekend's match-ups should help to solidify the playoff picture for the rest of the league.

"It's looking good for us right now," Nelson said. "If we win against Middlebury, we are definitely in the playoffs. [But] we will still be in pretty good shape if not."