Date: Wednesday, November 15, 2000
Written by Michael Douglas

MEN'S SOCCER RALLIES TO TAKE ECAC CHAMPIONSHIP

MEDFORD -- The Tufts University men's soccer team, coached by Ralph Ferrigno, won the 2000 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Championship. The Jumbos, who entered the tournament as the seventh seed among eight teams, captured their first-ever ECAC title by upsetting top-seeded Bowdoin College, 3-1, on November 12. Senior co-captain and goalkeeper Steve McDermid (Shorewood, MN) was named Most Valuable Player.

En route to the championship, Ferrigno's lads put together a string of victories against higher seeded opponents. Not just Bowdoin, which finished the regular season with an 11-1-1 overall record, but also the second seeded Babson Beavers and sixth seeded Keene State College Owls. It marked the second time in three years that Tufts played in the ECAC Championship Game. They lost to Wheaton for the 1998 title.

Tufts travelled to Wellesley, Mass., to face a formidable foe in its first-round opponents, the second-ranked Babson College Beavers (Nov. 8). The Beavers had compiled a 14-4-2 record entering the tournament. The game started off as a defensive battle, with neither team penetrating the net during the first half. Tufts sophomore Garrett Dale (Upper Montclair, NJ) changed that with a header goal off of a corner kick from senior co-captain David Drucker (Potomac, Md) less than ten minutes into the second half. The Beavers fought back, tying the game up at one goal apiece seventeen minutes later. With just over four minutes left in the contest, however, Drucker blasted in a one-timer from sophomore Matt McGregor (Little Compton, RI) that sealed the game for the Jumbos. First-year Brian Mikel (Tuscon, Ariz.) put the game out of reach with his fourth goal of the season with 1:24 left.

The semi-final round of the tournament brought the Jumbos to Brunswick, Maine, to face the sixth-ranked Keene State Owls (Nov. 11). The 16-6 Owls had upset third-seeded Amherst in the opening round. Once again, a defensive battle marked the opening of the game. Goalkeeper McDermid made a solid showing with four saves in a scoreless first half. Midway through the second half, Mikel made a high cross that junior Brad Stitchberry (Bryn Mawr, Penn.) headed into the lower-left corner of the goal to give Tufts a 1-0 edge. The Owls would not be able to answer that goal, as the combined efforts of McDermid and the Tufts defense held a strong Keene offense scoreless for the remainder of the game. McDermid finished with eight saves to collect his sixth shutout of the season.

With that win Tufts advanced to the chapionship game, against the host and top-ranked Bowdoin. The Jumbos looked to avenge their prior meeting this season, when they had succumbed to the Polar Bears 1-0 at Brunswick (Oct. 7). And that they did. The theme of the game for the Jumbos seemed to be "Score Early and Score Often." Following a Bowdoin miscue in the backfield, junior Pat Brophy (No. Reading, Mass.) sent a Mikel pass into the open net just five and a half minutes into the game. Dale increased the lead to two goals as he picked up a deflection and punched it into the net with five minutes remaining in the half. Dale added yet another goal four minutes later as the Jumbos took a 3-0 lead into halftime.

The Polar Bears fought back hard in the second half, taking an 11-0 advantage in corner kicks and a 8-1 edge in shots. This was Tufts' time to shine, however, as McDermid and the Tufts defense allowed only a single second-half goal. McDermid had seven saves, including six in the second half, to lead the Jumbos to the 3-1 victory, and the ECAC champioinship. The Polar Bears had not lost a home contest since Nov. 7, 1998, a 17-game unbeaten streak.

The Jumbos finished their season winning eight of their last ten games for a final record of 11-5-2. Co-captains McDermid and Drucker, the only seniors on a predominantly young Jumbo team, each ended their careers at Tufts with their shares of accolades. In addition to his MVP award, McDermid was also named to the NESCAC All-Academic team last season. Steve finished second in Tufts history with 20 career shutouts. Drucker was twice named to the All-NESCAC team, to the second team as a sophomore and to the first team this season. He also shares with Chris Vriavas ('96) the title of ninth all-time leading scorer at Tufts with 59 points on 19 goals and 21 assists.

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