Box Score 
MEDFORD – The Tufts University men's soccer team defeated the Bowdoin College Polar Bears on Saturday in the NESCAC Championship Quarterfinal by a score of 3-0 to advance to the semifinal.
Midfielder Travis Van Brewer (pictured), defender Ian Daly, and forward Mikey Brady scored the goals for the Jumbos, with the first coming just under four minutes into the game. Van Brewer took advantage of a Bowdoin foul, striking the free kick over the Bowdoin goalie Chris Kingston from a distance and into the back of the net for the quick 1-0 lead.
Bowdoin's first chance came in the 28th minute when senior midfielder Minseo Bae collected a pass and fired a shot wide right of the net. Just nine minutes later, Tufts sophomore Woovin Shin sent a great ball in front of the net on a corner kick, finding the head of Daly who finished in the right side of the net to put the Jumbos up 2-0.
Bowdoin would respond with a scoring opportunity with just two minutes left in the first half when sophomore Carlton Steinberg sent a cross in the box that was headed on goal by senior Dylan Reid, but Tufts goalie Erik Lauta stepped up to make the save, sending the game to halftime with the score at 2-0. Tufts capitalized on their opportunities in the first half, scoring on two of their four shots.
The visiting Polar Bears stepped it up in the second half in terms of shots and opportunities, outshooting the Jumbos 8-2. Tufts played stout defense to start out the half, blocking shots and getting in the way, causing Bowdoin to send shots wide of the goal. Bowdoin's Reid had two more chances to score on headers in the 66th and 76th minutes, but both would end up wide right of the goal.
Tufts had a goal kick after Reid's missed shot and Lauta found junior Sean Traynor on the left side of the field where he dribbled the ball all the way into the box and sent a pass to Brady in the middle of the goal area. The sophomore fired a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal for the third Jumbo tally of the game.
The final 10 minutes of the game was when Bowdoin had their best chances to score. Their best chance came in the 81st minute when senior Alex Chaban sent a corner kick to the far post where junior Julian Juantorena jumped up and fired a fast header towards the net, but Lauta once again came in to make the diving save. Bowdoin would start to take desperate shots from a distance that sailed high of the net, one from junior Ben Brown and another from senior Harry Cooper. The final chance for Bowdoin came in the 89th minute when a free kick was sent in front of the goal, but Lauta jumped up to punch it away and out of bounds as time expired to give the Jumbos the 3-0 victory.
Bowdoin had the edge in shots, finishing with 11 compared to Tufts' six. Bowdoin also led in corner kicks with six while Tufts had four. Lauta finished the game with five saves, while there were no saves on the day from Bowdoin.
The victory brings the Jumbos to 11-1-3 on the year and sends them to the semifinal round which will be played at Connecticut College and they will face #4 seed Middlebury. The loss for Bowdoin will likely end their season with an overall record of 9-5-2.
Written by Tim O'Brien, Athletic Communications Intern
