Men's Soccer Falls to #20 Tufts in NCAA Tournament Opening Round

MEDFORD, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision to #20 Tufts University in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament on Saturday at Tufts' Bello Field.

The Bears., who were making the program's seventh NCAA Tournament appearance, end the season with an overall record of 12-3-5. The host Jumbos (13-3-3) advance to the second round and will entertain the University of Rochester tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 PM. Rochester advanced on penalty kicks after playing Johnson & Wales University to a 1-1 following regulation and two overtime periods.

Tufts held an 18-11 shot advantage for the game as well as a decided 10-3 edge in corner kick attempts. The Jumbos were also flagged for four offsides.

Bridgewater State had the first strong chance of the game, as senior forward David Nelson's (East Bridgewater, Mass.) attempt in the fourth minute was stopped by Tufts' keeper

Tufts got on the board just over 13 minutes into the contest following a throw-in. After the toss into the box, senior forward Mikey Brady (Washington, D.C.) headed a loose ball on the right side of the box into the front of goal. Junior defender Taylor Feinberg (Scarsdale, N.Y.) was there to tap the ball over the goal line for the early lead.The goal marked Feinberg's fourth of the season.

After the Tufts goal, BSU came right back and senior defender Matthew Garcia (Foxboro, Mass.) nearly tied the game at one but his shot from the right side rang off the corner of the post and the crossbars.

Sophomore forward Henry Perkins (Wooster, Ohio) extend the Jumbo lead to 2-0 in the 40th minute. Junior forward Ben Verner (Acton, Mass.) and sophomore defender Matteo Bargagna (Atlanta, Ga.) collected the assists on Perkins' third strike of the 2023 campaign.

Freshman midfielder Bijan Akhtarzandi-Das (Washington, D.C.) converted off a corner kick in the 63rd minute to put the game out of reach. Perkins and sophomore Daniel Yanez (Short Hills, N.J.) assisted on Akhtarzandi-Das' second goal of the season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Nicola Antic (Waltham, Mass.) was terrific between the pipes for the Jumbos as he made eight saves including a number of impressive stops to record his 13th win of the season and seventh shutout. Antic's biggest save, a diving stop on a breakaway from the left side, came in the 61st minute with the Jumbos nursing a 2-0 lead. Moments later Akhtarzandi-Das made it a 3-0 game.

BSU graduate netminder William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) turned aside four shots in the setback.

Notes: The game marked Head Coach Brendan Adams' 400th as the Bears' skipper.