NCAA TOURNAMENT SECOND ROUND – TUFTS UNIVERSITY JUMBOS VS. BUFFALO STATE BENGALS
Sunday, November 17, 2024 – 5:00 PM
Bella Field – Medford, MA (Hosted by Tufts)
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LAST TIME OUT… Last time out, the Bengals won their first round matchup with the Thomas College Terriers with a final score of 3-0. It was Buffalo State's first win in the NCAA Tournament since the team beat RIT with a score of 1-0 back in 1982.
Aney Djadou (Buffalo, NY/Amherst),
Manu Prieto (Cascais, Portugal/Salesianos do Estoril), and
Matthew Stasyuk (Syracuse, NY/Marcellus) each scored for Buffalo State.
Sam Gregson (Anglesey, Wales/Ysgol David Hughes) and
Diego Rivera (East Meadow, NY/Cairo Durham) each had an assist.
Shae Wirt (Overland Park, KS/St. Thomas Aquinas) needed to make just two saves for the win. Overall, Buffalo State outshot the Terriers 29-5 overall.
Both sides were silent in the first half. Buffalo State had multiple strong opportunities but could not find that back of the net. Of the 29 Bengal shots, 16 came in the first half while also tallying nine corner kick attempts.
The Bengals were finally able to break through in the second half. Just ten minutes in, Djadou was able to tap into a wide open net after a pass from Gregson. Buffalo State added a second goal just two minutes later after Prieto sniped a shot off a pass from Rivera. Stasyuk solidified the Bengals win with his first goal as a Bengal. Stasyuk found an open lane in the middle of the field and fired a long shot the went right through the Terriers goalie. The Bengals were able to run out the clock to secure their first win of the NCAA Tournament.
Joshua Joseph led the Terriers with a pair of shots. Jamie Fischer made six saves in the effort.
THE MATCHUP/HOW WE GOT HERE… The Buffalo State Bengals earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 while Tufts also earned an at-large bid, falling to Bowdoin College in the NESCAC Quarterfinals on penalty kicks. The winner will advance to the Sweet 16 and will take on the winner of Dickinson vs. Lynchburg.
LAST TIME WE MET… This will be the first time the two sides have faced each other.
THE BENGAL BREAKDOWN… At 16-2-3 (7-1-1), the Bengals earned the top-seed in the conference tournament after one of their best seasons in program history. After starting the season 12-0-1 (6-0-0 SUNYAC), the Bengals continued to show their consistency as one of the top teams in the SUNYAC, and finally cracked into the United Soccer Coaches Association Top 25 rankings. Poll 7 (October 22) saw the Bengals first appearance on the list at 24 while Poll 8 (October 29) had Buffalo State climb to 17, their highest national ranking since 2017. The team finished as the runner-up in the SUNYAC after falling to Cortland in the conference championships game.
As a team, the Bengals have lit up the scoreboard as they sat second in the conference in goals, points, shots on goal, and sit atop the SUNYAC with nine shutouts and 41 assists entering the NCAA Tournament. The team also sits 22
nd in the nation in goals, 24
th in points, and eighth in shutouts entering tournament play.
GO DIEGO GO… Rivera has been a staple on the Bengals offense in each of his first two seasons. Rivera led the conference with 41 points on 17 goals and seven assists. He also had two hat tricks this season coming against Elmira and Oswego and was named the SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Year.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS… Rivera's 17 goals are the most for a Bengal in a season since Theo Pencic had 16 goals back in 2021.
SPREADING THE BALL AROUND… The Bengals have 41 assists on the year entering the tournament. Prieto leads the team with 17 of those assists. That mark is a single season program record, which was previously 14 assists held by Theo Pencic in 2021 and Scott Martin in 1999. Nine Bengals have at least one assist with seven of those nine have multiple assists on the year. Prieto also sits atop the nation in that category.
OFFENSIVE POWERHOUSE… Buffalo State has tallied 155 points total on the year entering their matchup with Tufts. That mark is second in the conference, only trailing Cortland with 157 points, and is the 24
th best mark in the country.
IN GOAL FOR THE BENGALS… Wirt has started every game in goal for the Bengals and played all but 20 minutes. Across 21 games, Wirt has accumulated 77 saves and a 0.794 save percentage along with nine shutouts. That shutout total ranks him eighth in Division III.
STRONG ON DEFENSE… The trio of Stasyuk,
Tapiwa Mushonga (Johannesburg, South Africa/Hilton College), and
Salvador Gomes (Lisbon, Portugal/Colegio de S. Thomas) have paced the Bengals defensive unit. Buffalo State is allowing an average of less than one goal per game across this season.
ALL-SUNYAC… Buffalo State had eight members earn All-SUNYAC honors in Rivera, Prieto, and Gomes who earned First Team, Mushonga and Gregson who were Second Team, and Wirt, Djadou, and
Adam Webster (York, England/Woldgate College), were Third Team.
TAKING NOTES ON TUFTS… Tufts enters the NCAA Tournament as one of the top teams in the country. The Jumbos have yet to lose this season and were ranked as high as #2 in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll. Tufts advances after earning a 2-1 victory over Westfield State in their first round matchup.
Leading the Jumbos on offense was Liam Gerken who has tallied 17 points on four goals and nine assists. Xavier Canfin leads the team with five goals. 20 team members have registered at least one point on the season with 16 of them have two points or more.
In goal for the Jumbos has been Nikola Antic. On the year, Antic has accumulated 53 saves with seven shutouts and has posted a 0.45 goals against average.
Tufts is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the tenth straight season and were national champions in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2019.
SCHEDULES/RESULTS…
BUFFALO STATE BENGALS: 16-2-3 (7-1-1 SUNYAC)
TUFTS UNIVERSITY JUMBOS: 12-0-5 (7-0-3 NESCAC)
