Panthers come from behind to record victory 

            MEDFORD, Mass. – Plymouth State University senior Tommy Schrey (Munich, Germany/Alvirne, N.H.) scored to tie the game in the 79th minute and and then won it with a golden goal early in the overtime session Tuesday night as the visiting Panthers earned a 3-2 come-from-behind victory at Tufts in non-league men's soccer action at Bello Field.

            With Plymouth trailing 2-1 during an action-packed second half, Schrey volleyed a free kick from freshman Anders Olsson (Sturefors, Sweden) past Tufts keeper Zach Cousens (Contocook, N.H.) to tie the score at 2-2 with 11:29 remaining in the second half. Panther senior goalie Dan Salzar (Dover, N.H.) did his part by saving Tufts shots from Kameron Jaff (Dubai, UAE) and Jono Edelman (Memphis, TN) in the final minutes of regulation. Edelman also had a late header of a cross that sailed just wide and the game went into overtime.

            The Panthers ended it quickly when Shrey ran up on a beautiful ball into open space by KC Haywood (Lansdale, Pa.) and plunked it past a converging Cousens for the winner just 1:23 into OT. Plymouth, who hadn't scored in three previous contests, knotched their season-high for goals with the game-winning third.

            While Plymouth State improved to 3-6-1 with their first victory in four games, Tufts dropped to 4-3-1 with their first loss in four games. The hosts' three-game winning streak had been their longest since 2006. The outcome marked the second straight year that Plymouth came back on Tufts in the final 15 minutes, following last year's 2-1 final in which PSU scored twice on late penalty kicks.

            Playing in a steady mist of rain, Plymouth had scored first in the seventh minute when junior Dre Cabral (Tokyo, Japan) was on the spot to drill a free ball in the box into an open net. Tufts tied the score at 1-1 as junior Matt Blumenthal (Simsbury, Conn.) stole the ball from a defender and beat Salzer to the low left. Late in the half, Tufts sophomore Michael Walker (Los Altos, Calif.) launched a long free kick into the goal mouth that was redirected on net forcing Salzar to make a save.

            Early in the second half, Plymouth's Kabiru Yahaya (Abuja, Nigeria) went in alone on Cousens, but his chip shot was blocked as the Tufts keeper challenged. Tufts gained a 2-1 advantage when senior Ben Green (Burlington, Vt.) scored on a free kick for the second straight game, putting his shot into the upper left corner in the 51st minute.

            Both teams created several scoring opportunities as the second half went on, including a Plymouth State free kick into a crowd that Jaff booted away from the goal line.

            Tufts finished with advantages of 13-8 in shots and 9-3 in corner kicks. Salzer stopped four shots in the Panther cage, while Cousens recorded one save at the other end for Tufts.

            The Jumbos return to NESCAC action when they travel to Colby College for a 2:30 contest on Saturday. Plymouth plays Little East Conference foe Rhode Island College on Saturday at 1 pm. 

(Courtesy of Tufts Sports Information)

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