ONEONTA, NY (November 12, 2022) – Tufts University defeated UMass Boston in the NCAA first round matchup 1-0 on Saturday afternoon on Red Dragon Field of host site SUNY Oneonta.
Daniel Yanez was the Jumbos' hero today, as he curled a classy free kick into the back post from just outside the box. He placed the ball high and around the Beacons' four man wall and got it to curl back into the frame of the goal to bury it. The game was scoreless until the 74
th minute when Tufts was awarded the kick. Yanez was the sole Jumbo to walk up to the ball with confidence. He picked his spot and found the back of the net as his teammates were fired up from the sideline leading in the match 1-0.
The first half of the match was controlled in majority by Tufts working the ball around looking for their best option to get in behind. They took their chance in the 18
th minute when
Sean Traynor showed off a body faint to go by one defender and slip in behind to
Ethan Feigin whose chance was shut down by Qasim El Ashkar. The rest of the half carried out in the middle third of the pitch, seeing a 0-0 score at the break.
Coming out into the second half it was a nice replica to the first half as Tufts was possessing the ball nicely from side to side. The Beacons earned themselves a few counter attacks that were eventually shut down by the center back pairing of Tufts,
Max Clivio and
Alex Wall. The Jumbos nearly scored earlier in the half when
James Gunn clipped a ball into the box from 35 yards out finding the head of forward
Mikey Brady. Brady flicked the ball on frame, but was stopped yet again by El Ashkar.
After their goal, Tufts shifted to a defensive mindset bringing two center midfielders back to hold in front of their backline. They were put to the test in the last minute of the match as Annilson DePina was able to dribble between three Jumbo defenders in the left corner of the box and get his shot away.
Erik Lauta for the Jumbos staying on his toes late in the match was able to swallow it up and run out the clock for his side.
Tufts attempted 17 shots in the match while UMass Boston was able to take three shots. Through the 90 minutes the Jumbos earned themselves four corners as the Beacons earned two of their own. Qasim El Ashkar for UMass Boston made nine saves during the game while opposite him Lauta made that one save for the Jumbos.
The Jumbos improved their record to 8-2-7 and will advance into the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 1 p.m. facing off against SUNY Oneonta. The game will take place at Red Dragon Field at host site SUNY Oneonta. UMass Boston finished their season with a record of 10-5-4.
