Box Score Recap courtesy of Wheaton College
NORTON, MA - For the second time in program history, the Tufts men's soccer team won an NCAA Regional round as the Jumbos earned a 2-0 victory over the host Wheaton College Lyons in Sunday afternoon's NCAA second round contest at Keefe Field.
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Tufts (12-2-4) will play Muhlenberg College on Saturday, November 22 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament at a time and place to be determined later. The Mules moved on to the third round on penalty kicks (5-3) over Catholic University on Sunday.
Wheaton sees its 2014 season to a close at 17-4-2 overall. The Lyons made their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament today and also posted their second-straight 17-win season.
Jumbos' senior back Sam Williams gave the guests an early 1-0 lead in the fourth minute of play when he redirected a cross by junior Monil Patel into the lower left corner of the net for his fourth goal of the year. Patel delivered a sharp cross from the right flank after he and junior midfielder Jason Kayne executed a give-and-go pass off of a short corner play from the right sideline.
Wheaton senior forward Travis Blair looked for the equalizer in the 19th minute at the top of the box, but Tufts sophomore goalkeeper Scott Greenwood charged hard off his line and deflected Blair's shot out of danger.
Tufts held an 11-4 advantage in shots at the break, while Wheaton compiled a 3-2 margin in corner kicks after a hard-fought 45 minutes of action.
In the second half, Lyons' junior goalkeeper Matt Dickey made a pair of stops at 53:42 and 54:15, respectively, to keep the game at a 1-0 deficit.
Freshman midfielder Kevin Halliday nearly found the insurance goal for Tufts in the 66th minute, but his well struck shot from about 25 yards out hit the crossbar and caromed downward just outside of the goal line. Lyons' senior midfielder Marlon Ramalho pounced on the loose ball and cleared it out of harm's way right before Tufts senior midfielder Kyle Volpe had a chance to put a head on the ball.
The Lyons countered with a flurry of shots from 75:05 to 76:04, although Greenwood was up to the task making two spectacular saves to maintain the Jumbos' 1-0 advantage. After two blocked shots at the top left corner of the box, Wheaton junior midfielder Noah Kossoff gathered the second rebound that bounced near the far post and fired a point-blank range shot at Greenwood, who came up with the stop.
Greenwood also turned away Stephan Nkom's game-tying scoring bid at 76:04 with a finger-tip save on a ball that ricocheted off of a defender and changed direction towards the top-right corner.
Tufts then potted the all-important insurance goal at the 80:08 mark on a set piece from the right flank. From about 30 yards out, Patel played his free kick opportunity towards the far post to junior midfielder Connor Brown who quickly one-touched the ball back to the middle of the box. Kayne gathered the pass, took a single touch into space and fired a low shot into left corner of the net for his fifth goal of the season.
Wheaton registered four shots throughout the remainder of the contest including a header by Kossoff that Greenwood turned away in the 84th minute. Greenwood finished with four saves for his eighth shutout of the season, while Dickey stopped a game-high six shots in the loss (12-2-1).
Tufts produced a 24-15 differential in shots, while Wheaton held an 11-2 margin in corner kicks. Patel assisted on both Jumbo goals.
The last time Tufts advanced out of the NCAA Regional round was in 1994 when they topped host Williams 2-0 and Middlebury 1-0. The Jumbos are now 4-3 overall in NCAA contests.
The Jumbos are now 5-3-0 against the Lyons in the all-time series, which dates back to 1998. Today's game marked the first-ever meeting between both squads in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament.
> NCAA Bracket
Photos by Alonso Nichols / Tufts
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