MEDFORD, MA (November 15, 2023) -- The No. 20 Tufts University men's soccer squad will play host the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament Sectional Rounds this weekend, as the Jumbos will battle Washington & Lee University in the Round of 16 at 11 a.m. while No. 16 Colorado College and Ohio Northern University will play in the other contest Saturday afternoon. The winners of Saturday's Round of 16 games will play Sunday at 1 p.m. for a trip to the NCAA Final Four in Salem, Virginia. The Jumbos are coming off a pair of NCAA Tournament wins last weekend, knocking off Bridgewater State University 3-0 before topping the University of Rochester 2-1 in the NCAA Second Round.
Match Details:
NCAA Tournament Site Homepage
Opponent: vs. Washington & Lee University (14-4-4)
Date: Saturday, November 18, 2023
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Medford, MA - Bello Field
(Directions)
Live Coverage:
Live Stats -
Live Video
A Look At The Jumbos (14-3-3)
The Jumbos are host the NCAA Sectional Round for the sixth time since the 2013 season, as Tufts is in its 12th appearance all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Tufts has earned four national titles since 2014, earning crowns in '14, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Tufts has been strong at home this season, going 9-1-1 on its home turf while not falling at home to a non-New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) squad since falling to Brandeis University in the NCAA Tournament Sectional Final back in 2017. The Jumbos have gotten their scoring from a large contingent, as 12 players have scored multiple goals in 2023 led by the five goals and five assists from
Sean Traynor.
Ethan Feigin has four goals and five assists this season, and
Mikey Brady and
Daniel Yanez each have tallied four times while dishing out three assists.
Taylor Feinberg has scored four times from his center back spot, and reserves
Henry Perkins and
Ben Verner have netted three goals as well.
Mateo Bargagna has been dynamic on the right back spot, as he leads the team with seven assists. The Jumbos have only had seven unassisted goals all season, and nine players have game-winning tallies in 2023.
Defensively, senior captain
Max Clivio has been very strong for the Jumbos while
Gibson Campbell also leads an experienced and dynamic back line. Senior
Woovin Shin and first-year
Bijan Akhtarzandi-Das have been stellar off the bench, and Liam Gerkin has steadied the midfield with two goals and two assists. In net,
Nikola Antic made some massive saves in the NCAA Second Round and has played a team-high 1746 minutes while allowing 16 goals and making 79 saves. He has also posted seven shutouts on the year.
Head coach
Kyle Dezotell will be looking for his first trip to the NCAA Final Four as the head boss of the Jumbos this weekend, as he has gone 37-8-14 in charge of the Jumbos.
A Look At The Generals (14-4-4)
Washington & Lee University returns to the NCAA Round of 16 for the fourth straight tournament, as the Generals topped SUNY Oneonta last weekend at home 2-1 thanks to goals from Grant McCarty and Weyimi Agbeyegbe.
With his goal and two points for Agbeyegbe in the NCAA Second Round, he now sits with 34 goals and 86 points in his career. Agbeyegbe is tied for fourth in points in career points at WLU, and he moved into sole possession of seventh place on the goals list. Agbeyegbe's goal also extended his NCAA Tournament goal streak to five games, as the junior has scored in each NCAA contest over the last two seasons.
The Generals were 9-3 at home this season on Watt Field in Lexington, going 5-0-2 on the road while posting a 0-1-2 record at neutral sites, and came into the 2023 season ranked No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll. WLU fell 3-1 to the University of Lynchburg 3-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Final back on November 5, but defeated Western Connecticut State 2-0 to set up its win over Oneonta.
In addition to the ODAC Offensive Player of the Year Agbeyegbe, the Generals boast six other players that earned All-ODAC honors led by first-teamers McCarty, PJ Ryan and goalkeeper Will Joseph. Matteo Adler, Willy Hall and Will Luik were also All-NESCAC honorees, as McCarty finished second on the team with eight goals. Alex Perez has scored seven goals off the bench for the Generals, and Buster Couhig leads the team with eight assists.
Joseph has started all 22 games for WLU, making 62 saves while posting seven shutouts. Head coach Michael Singleton is in his 10th season at Washington & Lee, posting a 142-35-24 record with the Generals including winning 10 or more games in all 10 seasons in Lexington. He has helped guide the Generals to eight NCAA Tournaments, including making the NCAA semifinals in 2021 with a loss to eventual NCAA champion Connecticut College in overtime.
A Look At ONU & Colorado College
Colorado College, ranked No. 16 in the most recent USC Top 25 Coaches Poll, advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 for the first time in 30 years after tying host Emory University last Sunday while advancing with a 5-4 victory in penalties. The last time CC made it to the Sweet 16 was in 1993. The last time the program won multiple NCAA Tournament games in the same run was 1992, the year the Tigers made their first and only Final Four appearance.
The Tigers (14-3-2) have been led by the eight goals and three assists from Oliver Ramirez, while Connor Webster has tallied eight goals as well for the Tigers. Alexander Ward has started all 19 games for CC, tallying five times to go with a team-best eight assists. The Tigers defense has been stellar all season, allowing just 18 goals in 19 games as Jasper Broad has started all 19 games making 61 saves in 1711 minutes in net. Head coach Scott Palguta has been with the Tigers for nine seasons, posting a 106-38-20 record.
Ohio Northern University pulled possibly the biggest upset of the NCAA Tournament thus far, defeating previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Messiah University 1-0 at the University of Lynchburg last weekend. The lone goal of the game was scored by junior Brenden Gervers, and Lucas Hickey made it stand up in goal as he stopped six shots for the Polar Bears. ONU is making its fifth trip to the NCAA Sweet 16, having gotten to this point in the tournament in 2008, 2011, 2012 and last season.
Junior forward Ryan Sommerfeld leads the team in points and goals with 11 scores and 27 points, while Will Shaffer has posted 10 goals and six assists on the season. First-year Colin Gottron also has four goals and six assists for the Polar Bears, and Hickey has played 1977 minutes in net making 49 saves to go with 24 goals allowed.
Fifth-year head coach Chris Matejka is now 56-26-16 at ONU. The victory was Matejka's first NCAA Tournament win at ONU, putting his record at 1-1-4, including advancing three times in penalty kick shootouts.
Against W&L, ONU and Colorado College
The Jumbos have never played Ohio Northern University or Colorado College in program history, while the Jumbos are 1-0 against Saturday's opponent Washington & Lee. The only meeting was in 2019, when Tufts knocked off WLU 2-1 in the NCAA Round of 16 at Swarthmore College.
Zach Seigelstein scored in overtime to give the Jumbos the win, while
Ian Daly also scored to tie the game in the 62nd minute. Tufts' seniors
Sean Traynor and
Woovin Shin were on that squad, though neither featured in the contest.
Around the Nation
Four NESCAC schools are still alive in the NCAA Tournament, as Amherst College is hosting a NCAA Sectional taking on Occidental College while Cortland and Middlebury College are also in Amherst for the weekend. On the other side of the bracket, Connecticut College is heading to the University of Mary Washington to battle Montclair State while the host Eagles are battling Washington College (Md.). The last sectional is at the University of Chicago, featuring Calvin against the host Maroons while St. Olaf will take on Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the other Third Round battle.
--JUMBOS--
