Box Score WATERVILLE, Maine – The Tufts University men's soccer team generated a plethora of opportunities during its game against Colby Saturday afternoon, but the squad could only beat Mules freshman goalkeeper Avery Gibson one time during a hard-fought 1-1 tie in the NESCAC opener for both teams.
The Jumbos (0-1-1, 0-0-1 in NESCAC) jumped on the scoreboard first, as senior forward Gaston Becherano tallied his first goal of the season unassisted from just outside the 18-yard box. Sophomore Jacob Tower responded quickly for the Mules (0-1-1, 0-0-1 in NESCAC), by registering his first goal of the season, which came off a penetrating pass by sophomore Jeffrey Rosenberg in the 14th minute.
Gibson made eight saves in the contest for the Mules, while Jumbos senior goalkeeper Scott Greenwood recorded seven. The Jumbos had the upper hand in terms of total shots, 25-13, and corner kicks, 10-8. The Jumbos committed 11 fouls, while the Mules were charged with seven infractions.
The Jumbos applied pressure early and nearly went on the scoreboard in the opening minutes when freshman midfielder/forward Gavin Tasker ripped a shot off the crossbar from the left edge of the penalty box.
Shortly after the Mules evened the score, 1-1, Rosenberg nearly beat Greenwood on a 2-on-1 opportunity, but the Bethesda, Maryland, native flipped the ball slightly over the bar.
Becherano nearly scored his second goal of the game with 24 minutes remaining in the half, but his shot went wide right and the score remained even. Senior captain and midfielder Zach Halliday orchestrated a great ball to Lawson with 13 minutes remaining in the half, but Gibson came charging out and broke up the play.
The Jumbos threatened again late in the half, as Halliday was awarded a penalty-kick opportunity, after an aggressive Mules defense was charged with a penalty. Halliday stepped up and placed his shot to the bottom left corner of the goal, but Gibson read the shot perfectly and punched it aside. Gibson's stiff defense jumped in and immediately cleared the lingering ball out of any danger.
The first half consisted of back-and-forth play, as the Mules outshot the Jumbos, 9-7, and then Tufts titled the field toward the Mules goal in the second half, by dominating possession time, territorial advantage and quality chances. The Jumbos outshot the Mules, 11-1, in the second frame.
Senior midfielder Kevin Lawson tallied a quality chance for the Jumbos, as he fired a shot off the outside of the right post with 33 minutes remaining in the second half. Tower fired a quality shot toward net for the Mules, but it was blocked with 11 minutes remaining.
The game progressed into golden-goal overtime, and then neither team registered the decisive goal during the two 10-minute overtime periods, but it was not because of a lack of chances. The Jumbos gave the Mules defensive unit everything it could handle less than a minute into the first extra-time session, as freshman forward Joseph Braun and Tasker peppered Gibson, but were unable to solve the goalkeeper. Tasker then sent a ball to Becherano with one minute remaining in the first overtime, and Becherano's shot flew by the net, close to the right post.
The Mules registered by far the best sequence of pressure in the second overtime, which featured a scrum in front of the Jumbos net. Greenwood, along with his defensive unit, made a series of strong blocks and saves to keep the game even.
The Jumbos will be back in action Wednesday, as they will travel to Gordon for a 4:30 p.m. tilt. The squad will have its home opener against Bates Saturday, and then will host Plymouth State the following day, with both games slated to start at 2:30 p.m.
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