Box Score 
MEDFORD – The Tufts University men's soccer team advanced past the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks on penalty kicks in the second round of the NCAA Championship Sunday following a scoreless regulation and overtime.
The penalty kick shootout went 13 rounds with the Jumbos coming out on top 11-10. Freshman goalie Erik Lauta made two big saves for Tufts in the shootout. In the 11th round, when the Ducks could have won with a goal, he dove left and saved both the shot and the season. Jumbos Ian Daly and Travis Van Brewer then scored and Stevens' 13th attempt hit the post.
Tufts (14-1-4) moves on to the Sweet 16 next weekend where they will play Washington College, a 2-0 winner over Montclair State today. Bello Field at Tufts will be the site of the Sectional round.
The Jumbos started today's game hot, dominating the early possession. The first chance was theirs as senior Mati Cano sped down the right side of the field in the seventh minute and sent a hard shot towards the goal, but just wide right. The Jumbos would have another chance under a minute later as graduate student Travis Van Brewer sent a cross to the head of senior defender Biagio Paoletta who knocked it just wide left of the goal. Stevens' first chance and one of their best of the entire game came in the 15th minute when they had a free kick just outside the box. Senior midfielder Adam Silva sent a rocket of a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar. The rebound found the head of Jay Poskitt, but Tufts was able to send that shot out of bounds.
There were many chances for both teams throughout the game, but the defenses also made some key blocks, including two by the Tufts defense on shots by Silva in the 20th minute. This is where Stevens started to gain momentum. They seemed to take over the possession advantage for much of the remainder of the first half and had another scoring chance when first-year Luca Campbell sent a hard shot from beyond the box off the left post before Tufts was able to clear it. This came four minutes after a great Tufts chance when Van Brewer crossed the ball to senior Aidan Welsh on a corner kick in the 28th minute that Welsh headed towards the goal, but Stevens goalie Aedan Boriotti made a diving stop.
Stevens seemed to start out the second half right where they left off, putting together some scoring opportunities right away, including a bicycle kick shot by Silva that flew just high of the goal in the 47th minute. They followed that up with a good chance in the 56th minute as Poskitt sent a dangerous cross to the middle of the box, but Lauta stepped out and dove to intercept the pass. Silva continued to put pressure on the Jumbo defense and sent another hard shot at the goal in the 57th minute into the outstretched hands of a diving Lauta.
Tufts would finally start to create scoring chances in the 69th minute when senior Calvin Aroh sent a shot that was saved by Boriotti and senior Zach Seigelstein tried to head the ball on a break-in in the 76th minute, but Boriotti caught up to it and made the save. Poskitt followed up that rush with one of his own, heading the ball to try to get it by Lauta, but the Jumbo goalie came far out of the goal and blocked it away. The final chance of regulation came in the 84th minute when Tufts senior Max Jacobs found a window in the middle of the box and sent a hard shot with his left foot that was blocked by a defender.
In the first overtime period, Stevens once again started out strong, handling the ball more than Tufts and having it in the Tufts end of the field for the majority of the period, but not many chances came of it. The second overtime period was all Tufts as they immediately created a great scoring chance when sophomore Liam Gerken received a cross and sent a hard header towards the goal that was saved. Boriotti would follow up that save with his best stop of the game in the 106th minute when Jacobs found himself some space in the middle of the box and fired a great shot that looked like it was heading into the corner of the goal, but Boriotti dove and made a great save, sending the game to the penalty kick shootout.
Stevens led in both shots and saves with 19 shots and seven saves compared to Tufts' 12 shots and five saves. Tufts led in corner kicks with three while Stevens finished the game with two. The shutout for Lauta is his 10th and for Boriotti his ninth.
The game counts as a draw, moving Tufts to 14-1-4 on the season while Stevens ends their year with a 13-6-3 mark.
> 2021 NCAA Divison III Men's Soccer Championship Bracket
Written by Tim O'Brien, Athletic Communications Intern
