Men’s Soccer Shows Grit, Fall 2-1 to #2 Tufts in NCAA Tournament

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior Coleby Andrade (Falmouth, Mass.) scored the match's opening goal, but #2 Tufts University rallied to score two second-half goals to defeat the Owls 2-1 in an NCAA Tournament first round match from Bello Field in Medford, Mass.

The Owls provided a serious scare to the second-ranked team in Division III, leaning on sophomore goalkeeper Luke Theroux (Chicopee, Mass.) to thwart waves of Jumbos' attacks, allowing for Westfield to strike eight minutes into the second half.

Jacoby Authier (Holyoke, Mass.) headed down a 50-50 ball from just outside the box to the feet of sophomore Ethan Margolis (Wakefield, Mass.). Margolis then delivered a pass up field to Tim Tkacz (Suffield, Conn.) who lofted a ball from the midfield line into the center of the box. With Tufts attempting to head the ball back to Tufts keeper Nikola Antic (Waltham, Mass.), Andrade intercepted the pass and chipped a shot over Antic's head and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead with 36:20 to play in the match.

"Tim and I have been connecting a lot this season and he saw me go," said Andrade, one of the Owls senior captains. "Lots of good teams head the ball back [to the goalie] so I caught them off-guard and tapped the shot into the net with my left foot. It gave the team some good energy."

The goal from Andrade was his seventh of the season, which led the Owls.

Five minutes after the Andrade marker, the Owls had an opportunity to double the lead with a low shot from Tkacz saved by Antic, keeping the Jumbos at a one-goal deficit.

At the 61^st minute, Tufts was granted their eighth corner kick of the contest, resulting in a corner feed to Liam Gerken (Pales Verdes, Calif.) where Theroux made a sensational kick save, causing the ball to deflect off the crossbar and back down to the goal line where Margolis bicycle-kicked the ball out of danger and back towards midfield.

Theroux made another remarkable save to keep the Owls in front, aggressively blocking a crossing ball that entered the middle of the box as the Owls keeper punched the ball back out of the penalty area.

Tufts was able to find the equalizer with just over 20 minutes left in regulation. After a pair of blocked shots off the foot of Gerkin, Henry Perkins (Wooster, Ohio) centered a ball to Will Nicholas (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) who drilled a low shot past the diving Theroux for the tie.

With 16:13 left in the match, the Jumbos took their first lead of the match, capitalizing on a corner kick as Gerken sent the ball towards the back post, finding an unmarked Mateo Bargagna (Atlanta, Ga.) who had time to settle the ball, then pound a low, centered shot into the goal for a 2-1 advantage.

Westfield began to initiate more frequent scoring chances late in the game, the first coming on a free kick from Tkacz who sent a high shot towards the crossbar which was saved by Antic as he was forced to punch the sinking shot up and over the net, forcing an Owls corner.

On the corner kick, Matias Otero (Rye Brook, N.Y.) crossed the ball into the box to Margolis whose header drifted wide of the goal frame.

Theroux continued to make stop-after-stop to hold the Owls deficit to one goal, the last of many coming with 1:36 left in the game as he made a fully extended diving stop on a point-blank shot from Mikey Brady (Washington, D.C.).

The Owls had one last chance to send the game to overtime, with a free kick into the box resulting in a shot from Authier that was saved by Antic. The Jumbos were able to run the remainder of the clock out to advance into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

"We have a lot of gratitude to be in the National Tournament with really good teams," said Westfield State head coach Dr. Christopher Streeter. "Exciting for our players, our families, and the University and we put up a good fight tonight against a really good Tufts team. I could not be prouder of my players."

Tufts outshot Westfield 31-9 in the match with Theroux registering ten saves for the Owls. Antic made four stops for a Jumbos team that entered the tournament with the fourth lowest goals against average in Division III, only allowing seven goals all regular season and conference postseason combined.

The loss ends what was a successful season for the Owls, which won the MASCAC Championship last week in a 2-0 decision before putting forth a valiant effort against the nation's number two team in Tufts. The Jumbos have not lost a game in regulation time all season long, improving to 12-0-5 on the year.

"It was a good fight, that's what it takes at a national level against some of the strongest teams in the country," said Streeter. "The players knew that coming into this game, they knew that we needed to show up and fight and I feel like we did."

"Since August and preseason, I knew this team could be something special this season," added Authier, a senior captain for the Owls. "Tough draw against Tufts, they're a great program, but I am proud of the team and the year we had."

Westfield rolled into the NCAA Tournament with momentum after winning four straight games to reach the championship game. The Owls were playing in their first NCAA Tournament game since 2012.