MEDFORD, MA (November 9, 2023) -- The Tufts University men's soccer squad will play host to the First and Second Rounds of the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament this weekend on Bello Field, taking on Bridgewater State University Saturday at 11 a.m. before also hosting the University of Rochester and Johnson & Wales University at 1:30 p.m. in the second game of the First Round. The winners will play on Sunday at 1 p.m. with a chance at the Sweet 16 round next weekend.
Game Details
2023 NCAA Tournament Medford Site Homepage
Opponent: vs. Bridgewater State (12-2-5)
Date: Saturday, November 11, 2023
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Medford, MA - Bello Field (
Directions)
Live Coverage:
LIVE STATS –
LIVE VIDEO
Looking At The Jumbos (12-3-3)
The Jumbos are coming off a tough 1-0 defeat in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title match last weekend, falling to Amherst College at Middlebury College. The Jumbos have been playing some of their best soccer of the season of late, including knocking off No. 3 Middlebury in the NESCAC semifinals 2-1 thanks to a game-winning goal from sophomore
Daniel Yanez. Tufts also topped Bowdoin College in the NESCAC quarterfinals at home 2-1, and are boasting a 7-1-1 record on Bello Field this weekend.
Tufts is in its 12th trip to the NCAA Tournament this weekend, while looking for its fifth national title in program history. The Jumbos earned the Division III crown back in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019 under former head coach Josh Shapiro, who finished his career at Tufts with a .733 winning percentage. The current head coach
Kyle Dezotell has continued the strong success of the program in his three seasons, winning 73.7 percent of the matches since 2021 after starting during the 2020 CoVID-19 pandemic.
This year's squad has been a balanced and efficient scoring squad, as four players have four goals on the season as
Ethan Feigin and
Sean Traynor each have 13 points on four goals and five assists. Senior
Mikey Brady and Yanez each have four goals as well, while
Taylor Feinberg and
Ben Verner have tallied three times as well. For the season, 16 Tufts players have tallied goals for the Jumbos while 20 have points on the season. Defensively,
Nikola Antic has been a wall for the Jumbos as he has helped Tufts to eight shutouts on the season while allowing less than a goal per game on the season. Antic has made 66 saves on the year, and his senior captain
Max Clivio earned All-NESCAC First Team honors after his stellar season at center back.
Tufts also saw Yanez and Traynor earn Second Team honors in the NESCAC, which was announced on Wednesday. The Jumbos offense has been clicking over the second half of the season, tallying multiple goals in eight of their last 13 games including three or more in five of those contests. Tufts has outscored teams 37-15 on the year, while outshooting teams 296 to 188. The Jumbos are also 9-1-2 against non-NESCAC opponents over the last two seasons, with the lone loss coming at Oneonta in the 2022 NCAA Tournament Second Round.
Looking At The Bears (12-2-5)
Bridgewater State is the champions of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) after earning a decisive 5-0 win over Westfield State in the title game last Sunday. The Bears are undefeated in their last seven games, with the only non-win coming in a 2-2 tie at Rhode Island College on October 24. The Bears are 5-1-4 on the road this season, and have suffered losses only at Saint Joseph of Connecticut and Emmanuel College.
BSU has three All-MASCAC First Team honorees as announced recently, as Filippo Mucci, Nicholas Ribeiro and William Russell were tabbed while David Nelson and Hector Bucio were each Second Team honorees. The Bears also have the MASCAC Coach of the Year in Brendan Adams, while Ribeiro was named as the Co-Rookie of the Year. Bridgewater State has gotten strong contributions from its first-year class, as Ribeiro and Bucio led a group that saw five newcomers get starts for the Bears.
Nelson was the leading goal scorer for the Bears this season, as he comes into the weekend with 11 goals and 28 points. Ribeiro has a team-high 10 assists to go with six goals, and Mucci has six goals and three assists. Dominek Borden comes off the bench for BSU, and has posted four goals and eight assists for the season. Seniors Matthew Garcia and Will Halben each have three goals and two assists on the season. In goal, Russell has started all but one of the Bears' 19 games, allowing just 15 goals while tallying seven shutouts. Russell has stopped 108 shots on the season.
BSU is making its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2018 and its seventh all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Looking at Rochester & JWU
The University of Rochester comes into the NCAA Tournement after finishing third in the University Athletic Association (UAA) with an overall record of 9-5-2. The YellowJackets most recent victory came against Emory Universtiy on November 4, beating them 1-0. The YellowJackets are lead by senior Mid-Fielder Santi Ponce Ocampo, who scored a team leading seven goals and 14 points this season . In goal for the YellowJackets is senior Santino Lupica-Tondo who has started for the YellowJackets 16 times this season recording 1420 minutes in net while also posting five shutouts. This is Rochester's 22nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament history.
University of Rochester will square off against Johnston and Wales University (Providence) in the first round of the NCAA Tournement. JWU comes into the tournament after winning the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) posting a record of 14-2-4. The Wildcats defeated Norwich University 1-0 last Saturday hoisting their 10th GNAC title. The Wildcats have one of the top defenses in NCAA Division III Men's Soccer. They are ranked fifth in the country in goals allowed. They are lead in scoring by Graduate Student Aiden Bagley. Bagley posted 11 goals five assists for 27 points this season and was also named to the GNAC all conference team along with his teammate Johnathan Baker who lead the team with 1786 minutes played. In net for the Wildcats is Graduate Student Jacob Friedman, he posted nine goals allowed and a .883 save percentage. This is the seventh time the Wildcats have made it into the NCAA Tournement.
Against BSU, Rochester and JWU
Tufts has not played Bridgewater State prior this weekend, while the Jumbos are 1-0 against the University of Rochester and 2-0 against Johnson and Wales. Tufts defeated Rochester back in 2018 in the NCAA Tournament Semifinals 3-1, as the Jumbos earned a national title the next day with a 2-1 win over Calvin University. Tufts knocked off Johnson and Wales 2-1 in overtime in 2002 after knocking off the Wildcats 4-1 in 2001 in Medford.
Around the Country
To follow the action around the country, head to the official NCAA bracket
HERE.
Tickets and Parking
Tickets will be available on site at Bello Field Saturday and Sunday. Adult tickets are $10, while senior citizens, students with ID and children 3-12 are $5. Children under two years of age are free.
Spectators also will need to register to park at Tufts each day of competition at QR codes at the site of competition.
--JUMBOS--
