Jumbos' defense holds strong, team improves to 4-0

Although it did not come as readily as any of its previous three wins, the men’s soccer team’s 1-0 victory at Colby last Saturday may turn out to be one of the decisive moments in a pivotal season  for Tufts.

Unlike in previous contests where the Jumbos have had the luxury of numerous open looks on goal, the Mules defense limited the number of quality chances that the Jumbos were able to produce. Despite outshooting Colby 19-6, both teams’ goalies only made three saves apiece.

“Colby was defensively very sound,” coach Josh Shapiro said. “We did create a bunch of chances, but a lot of them were half-looks. They did a really good job of blocking shots and blocking crosses. I think you knew that in that game, you had to continue to do what you do well: spread them out, make them work defensively and eventually there would be bigger spaces and better chances to come.”

Those chances began to materialize in the second half, as the Jumbos hit the crossbar once and the posts twice in the final 45 minutes. While the Tufts attack began to break down the Colby defense, the Jumbos' backline held strong, despite playing without junior defender Connor Schaible or senior co-captain defender Sam Williams. Instead, freshman back Matt Zinner and sophomore co-defenseman Daniel Sullivan combined with upperclassmen defenders Peter Lee-Kramer and Monil Patel for yet another smothering defensive performance.

Sullivan, who made his first start of his career, contributed on both ends of the field, using his size and strength in the box to create multiple scoring chances off of set pieces. Sullivan’s contributions highlight the seemingly bottomless depth that Tufts possesses this year. The team has been able to roll any combination of players out on the field this year and see impressive results.

With the defense holding strong, Tufts found its best chance of the game in the final 10 minutes. With overtime looming, junior midfielder Rui Pinheiro finally converted to give his team a late-game lead it would not relinquish.

“[The play] started with a throw-in on the left side of the field,” Pinheiro told the Daily in an email. “We managed to switch the ball to the right side where Matt Zinner dribbled to the goal line. I was waiting at the top of the box and he had the vision to play a great ball back to me. I ran onto it and hit the ball low to the far post.”

Pinheiro credited his goal to the team’s ability to not stray from its game plan even as the game entered its waning minutes.

“We stuck to our game plan throughout the game and it was getting us chances so there was no need to make any drastic changes,” Pinheiro said. “In the end we got our goal and the win away from home.”

This is the Jumbos’ fourth straight victory to open their season, and it came on the heels of a 4-1 victory over Suffolk University on Wednesday. While Tufts has made quick work of lesser opponents thus far this season, its win over the Mules validated its top-squad credentials and was a testament to just how far the team has come this year.

“Anytime you can go on the road and get a win, it’s going to be really challenging in this league,” Shapiro said. “We needed a test -- you want to go in and win every game 5-0, but it was good to have a test, and have to see a game all the way out and battle through it the whole time.”

Tufts’ upcoming schedule has more than a few tests in store, as the team will play ninth-ranked Brandeis, 18th-ranked Amherst and Wesleyan, who finished second in the NESCAC last year, in three of its next four games.

The first of those games will take place on Wednesday afternoon at Kraft Field, where Wesleyan and Tufts will go head-to-head in Tufts’ second consecutive NESCAC matchup. And if the win over Colby is any indication, Tufts will be up for the challenge.