While the women's soccer team fell victim to a No. 7-No. 2 upset in Medford, the Tufts men's bid for the same came up short a few towns over.
The two-seed Amherst Lord Jeffs (12-1-1) defeated the seventh-seeded Jumbos (7-7-1), 3-2, in a penalty kick shootout to advance to the NESCAC semifinals, after regulation and two overtimes ended with the teams deadlocked at three goals each. Sophomore backup keeper Evan Grover made his third save of the shootout on senior tri-captain striker Ben Castellot's final attempt, securing the victory for the Jeffs.
"It was a very good performance by the lads," Tufts coach Ralph Ferrigno said. "I felt that we were a bit unlucky not to be moving on to the next round. We had a great chance to win; we were leading until [nine] minutes to go."
"It was an absolute dogfight," Tufts senior tri-captain Jon Glass said. "It was one of the most exciting games I've played since I've been at Tufts."
Outstanding goalkeeping by freshman Pat Tonelli kept Amherst off the scoreboard in the first 10 minutes, but the Lord Jeffs notched their first goal on a corner kick in the 12th minute. Freshman defender Matt Lewis, one of the taller Jeffs at 6'3", headed in junior midfielder Ryan O'Donnell's well-struck cross.
"They have six starters over six feet [tall]," Glass said. "If you look at the goals Amherst has scored this year, the majority have come on set pieces. You give a team with that kind of size enough free kicks, and they'll put them away eventually."
Tufts created multiple opportunities on offense later in the first half. The Jumbos tied the game at one on junior striker Dan Jozwiak's seventh goal of the year in the 32nd minute. Jozwiak received a pass from senior tri-captain striker Ben Castellot and flipped the ball over Amherst senior goalkeeper Moe Zeidan for the equalizer.
Amherst pulled ahead less than a minute later. Tonelli saved one Amherst shot, but the ricochet carried straight to senior co-captain Mike Wohl, who tapped home the goal to put the Jeffs up 2-1.
"When you give up a rebound, that's often what happens," Tonelli said. "One of the first things you're taught as a goalkeeper is that a rebound is as good as a goal."
With just six minutes to play in the first half, the Jumbos again pulled even. Junior defender Alex Bedig scored his first goal of the season, chipping a shot over Zeidan, which then bounced off the crossbar and barely over the goal line.
The referees huddled for several moments to discuss whether or not the ball had fully crossed the goal line before Zeidan grabbed it. A similar call went against the Jumbos in the waning moments of last Saturday's game against the Williams Ephs, costing them the match. But this time, the referees ruled in Tufts' favor, awarding the Jumbos the game-tying goal.
"It was huge to get that equalizer before halftime," Tonelli said. "We got shut out last time we played Amherst, and scoring two goals in the first half really gave us confidence while going to goal."
Tufts leapt out of the gate to begin the second half. Junior winger Bob Kastoff capitalized on a Jeffs defensive miscue to score the go-ahead goal in the 47th minute. Amherst adopted an attacking mentality in an effort to tie the game, outshooting Tufts 9-3 in the second period and winning seven corners to Tufts' one. Amherst finally tied the game on senior co-captain Rob Madden's goal in the 82nd minute. The midfielder headed home a perfectly struck corner kick to beat Tonelli.
Both teams had opportunities to score during the two 10-minute overtime periods, but neither could convert, sending the game into penalty kicks.
Junior midfielder Alex Botwinick hit the first PK for Tufts, and Amherst matched with its own conversion. Senior Mattia Chason drilled the second penalty home, and after Tonelli appeared to save Amherst's second attempt and take a 2-1 lead, the Jumbos' bench celebrated. But the officials ordered a rekick, saying that Tonelli left his line early, and sophomore Jake Duker - the brother of Tufts freshman Bear Duker - converted on the retake.
After both teams failed to score in the third round, Amherst senior Ian Lovett scored in the fourth round to give the Jeffs a 3-2 lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
"We took the five most confident, comfortable players [for the shootout]," Glass said. "I'd take the same five again without hesitating."
In order to secure the seventh seed in the tournament, the Jumbos prevailed over Conn. College Saturday with a 2-1 victory played on the turf at Bello Field because of the soggy conditions on Kraft's grass surface. Botwinick and Chason both scored for the Jumbos, whose lead stayed intact thanks to a big game from Tonelli, who saved five of the Camels' six shots on goal.
Glass remains proud of how he and his team performed over the weekend, despite the bittersweet end to the season, and his career, that yesterday's shootout loss brought.
"It hasn't even hit me yet," Glass said of playing his final game. "But I couldn't have asked for more from myself or my teammates today."
