The men's soccer team tallied its third consecutive victory yesterday, topping non-conference Rhode Island College 3-2 on the road to push its record to 3-4-1 on the season.
After letting a 2-0 first half lead dissipate early in the second frame, senior forward Mattia Chason scored the winning goal at the 68:09 mark.
"Overall we probably did not play as well as we played on Saturday [against Bates],"coach Ralph Ferrigno said. "But I thought we showed a lot of character in the second half. We were winning two-nothing at the half, and they scored twice in the first 10 minutes, and we were really under pressure. It showed tremendous character as to how we rallied."
The winning streak is a dramatic shift from the Jumbos' four-game losing streak early in the season.
"It's a funny thing," Ferrigno said. "When we were losing, even when we were playing well, somehow we'd lose. Arguably today we didn't play as well, but we just found a way to win. It's the other side coin in a way."
The Jumbos dominated the match out of the gate and got on the board at the 13:20 minute mark when sophomore midfielder Peter DiGregorio won a challenge in the box, tapping the ball past junior goalkeeper Jadon Neves for his first score of the season. Chason and senior tri-captain Ben Castellot combined for a 2-0 lead 20 minutes later when Castellot controlled a through-ball from Chason and finished in the bottom left-hand corner.
Coming off the halftime break, Rhode Island wasted no time chipping into the Jumbo lead. Junior forward Jimmy Hernandez, Jr. spearheaded the comeback, scoring three minutes into the half for a 2-1 score. Hernandez struck again at the 53:37 mark on a penalty kick following a yellow card on Tufts goalie freshman Pat Tonelli.
The two teams battled to break the tie, with Tufts finally gaining the upper hand off Chason's final goal, assisted by DeGregorio and junior Dan Jozwiak. Though the Anchormen outshot the Jumbos, 11-7, in the second half, the Jumbo defenders withstood the pressure and emerged with a 3-2 victory.
See Thursday's Daily for complete coverage.
-by Kelley Vendeland
