Seventh-ranked Tufts tallied the game's only goal late in the first half, as the Jumbos slipped past Middlebury 1-0 in the semifinals of the NESCAC Tournament on Saturday held at Connecticut College. Tufts (12-1-3) moves into Sunday's title game, while the Panthers (10-4-3) will wait for the NCAA selection show on Monday at 1:30 p.m. to find out if they earn a bid to the tournament.
The teams exchanged good scoring opportunities less than five minutes apart midway through the opening frame, with Middlebury getting the first of those opportunities.
Jordan Saint-Louis made a nice run up the left side into the Jumbos' penalty area, but keeper Erik Lauta dropped to the ground to smother the shot. Tufts came close to opening the scoring in the 24th minute with Mikey Brady finding a shooting lane deep in the Middlebury box, but his attempt went wide left.
The Jumbos broke through for a goal with 9:35 left in the half. Middlebury goalkeeper
Ryan Grady made a nice kick save on a low shot by Tufts' Anthony Bhangdia, but Ethan Feigin buried the rebound. The goal was the first allowed by the Panthers in the last 407:56 of game action.
Middlebury came within inches of tying the contest on a free kick from 30 yards on out by Saint-Louis. The Panther hooked a shot over a Jumbo that was heading toward the upper-right corner, but Lauta leapt and punched the ball over the cross bar.
Max Cook made a bid to give Tufts a two-goal cushion just under five minutes into the new half, but his shot from close range on the left side went high. Moments later, the Panthers pushed for the tying goal, as
Liam Sloan put a perfect cross into the Jumbos' penalty area that
Brandon Reid headed just over the net. With 23:15 left on the clock,
Andriy Proctor had another quality chance for Middlebury, but his shot from the left side of the penalty area skimmed over the cross bar.
The Panthers had one more close chance in the final 10 minutes when Sloan fired a shot from the left side that bounced off the bar and down, but never went over the goal line keeping the score at 1-0.
Middlebury held a 20-14 advantage in shots and a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Grady made two saves in goal for the Panthers, while Lauta had five stops to earn the shutout.
