Men’s Soccer in the NCAA Final Four

Senior captain Nathan Majumder tallied his second game-winner of the 2016 NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Tournament in a 1-0 double-overtime victory over No. 5 Kenyon College in quarterfinal-round action Sunday (Nov. 20) at Bello Field on the Medford/Somerville campus.

The Jumbos (13-5-2) head to the NCAA Final Four on Dec. 2, when they will face No. 8 University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) at Roanoke College’s Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia, at 11 a.m. Brandeis University and No. 16 Calvin College will compete in the other semifinal on Dec. 2 at 1:30 p.m. The national championship match will take place on Dec. 3, also at Roanoke.

“Getting a chance to host the NCAA Tournament and giving these guys, including the senior class, another game [is great],” said Josh Shapiro, the Jumbos’ seventh-year head coach. “The senior class has done so much for our program, and seeing them have such a big influence on getting us back to the Final Four is a wonderful thing. The crowd was amazing. Our upperclassmen played with tremendous heart and made the plays that needed to be made to get us to that next stage. I could not be prouder of where they have helped us get.

“At the same time, we do not want to be shortsighted,” Shapiro said. “Now we have a chance to go and get the whole big thing.”

Majumder, who now has 22 career goals and seven game-winners, found the back of the net in the 109th minute, assisted by junior midfielder Dexter Eichhorst and sophomore back Sterling Weatherbie. The game-winning goal (watch it here), Majumder’s fourth this season, came with 1:22 left in the second overtime.

The Jumbos have not allowed a goal through their first four NCAA Tournament games, outscoring their opponents, 5-0. Senior goalkeeper Scott Greenwood (12-4-1) made seven saves for the Jumbos, as he posted his 11th shutout of the season and his fourth consecutive shutout in the NCAA tourney. He has a program-leading 38 career shutouts.

The Kenyon Lords (20-3) have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in five consecutive seasons. Senior goalkeeper Sam Clougher (20-3) had five saves for the Lords.

The Lords held a 21-16 advantage in shots during the game. Each team fired five shots in the first half, while both teams totaled four shots in the two OT sessions. The Jumbos were guilty of 21 fouls, while the Lords were whistled for 13 infractions. The Jumbos attempted five corner kicks, while the Lords were awarded a pair.

The Lords attempted to find the game-winner toward the end of the second half, but Greenwood denied freshman forward Philippe Stengel in the 77th minute and freshman midfielder John Penas in the 82nd minute.

The Jumbos posted a pair of shots in the first overtime, as junior midfielder Tyler Kulcsar fired a shot wide left in the 93rd minute, and freshman midfielder/forward Gavin Tasker’s shot in the 99th minute was saved by Clougher. Oliver Wynn’s shot for the Lords was blocked in the 98th minute, and then Josh Lee fired a header shot wide right in the 99th minute.

Greenwood kept the game scoreless early in the second OT session, making a save on sophomore midfielder David Anderson in the 102nd minute. Clougher then denied Majumder in the 103rd minute.

The Lords nearly had the game-winner in the 108th minute, but sophomore forward Brice Koval’s drive went wide right. Majumder responded by scoring his second game-winner in the last three matches for the Jumbos.

Trevor Wenners, an intern in Tufts’ Sports Information Office, can be reached at trevor.wenners@tufts.edu.