Box Score Recap courtesy of Wheaton College
NORTON - Senior forward Gus Santos delivered the game-winning goal in the 79th minute and also set up the go-ahead marker in the 61st minute to lift Tufts University to a 2-1 victory over Dickinson College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Keefe Field on the campus of Wheaton College.
Watch Tufts Post-Match Press Conference
Watch Dickinson Post-Match Press Conference
With the win, the Jumbos (11-2-4) have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and will play host Wheaton College tomorrow at 1 pm. Dickinson sees its season come to a close at 11-6-2 overall. The Red Devils made their fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament today and sixth overall in program history.
The victory is the first in NCAA play for the Tufts program since 1994. The Jumbos are making their fourth overall appearance in the NCAA's, including '94, 1996 and 2012. Tufts improved to 3-3 overall in NCAA games.
Senior back Sam Williams set up the game-winning strike with a booming clearance from his defensive half that sent Santos free into space about 30-yards away from the scoring area. Santos then tracked down the ball, sprinted past his defender and slotted a finesse shot into the right half of the net to give Tufts a 2-1 edge at the 78:23 mark.
The Jumbos' defense limited their opposition to a pair of shots down the stretch – which included a save by sophomore goalkeeper Scott Greenwood in the 81st minute – to hold on for the win.
In the 65th minute trailing 1-0, Dickinson leveled the contest when junior forward Alfred Hylton-Dei put home a rebound for his eighth goal of the season. Junior midfielder Isaac Pitkow was credited with an assist as his initial shot was stopped by Greenwood at point-blank range before Hylton-Dei sent in the game-tying goal.
Santos orchestrated the first tally of the contest with a perfect cross from the left flank to junior midfielder Connor Brown who gained clearance into the box and headed home his sixth goal of the season untouched by a defender.
Tufts outshot Dickinson 17-9 and also held a 7-3 margin in corner kicks. Dickinson senior goalkeeper Reed Milbrath made two saves in the loss (10-4-2), while Greenwood stopped three shots to push his record to 9-2-3 on the year.
The Jumbos will play Wheaton for the eighth time in program history tomorrow in a series that dates back to 1989. Tomorrow's meeting will be the first between the two teams since 1998 when the Lyons defeated Tufts in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament championship game, 4-0. Wheaton and Tufts have never met in NCAA Tournament play despite the Jumbos 4-3-0 record overall against the Lyons.
> Live NCAA Bracket
Game Photos by Kelvin Ma / Tufts
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