Coming off a heartbreaking double-overtime loss at Eastern Connecticut State last Tuesday, the men's soccer team entered Saturday's home opener against NESCAC rival Amherst looking for its first victory of the season. But even though the nationally ranked No. 2 Lord Jeffs handily toppled the Jumbos 4-0, the members of the Tufts squad were still upbeat in spite of their 0-3 record.
"It's a tough start to the season, but taking a look at the schedule, there's a lot of games coming up that we can run the table on," junior defender Josh Molofsky said.
The Lord Jeffs came to Kraft Field undefeated at 2-0 (1-0 in NESCAC play) and immediately took it to Tufts from the get go, pressuring the Jumbos' defense and sending two shots at senior tri-captain goalkeeper Pat Tonelli in the opening two minutes. The veteran netminder took care of those to quickly earn a pair of saves, but Amherst's attack was unrelenting. Minutes later, freshman forward Spencer Noon finally put the Jeffs on the board in the 16th minute with his third goal in the season's first three games.
"We really moved the ball well the first 10 minutes, but after Amherst scored it was kind of a let down and the rest of the game went their way," Molofsky said.
Tufts tried to counter but was back on defense before long, as the Lord Jeffs were determined to pad their lead before halftime. They did so in the waning minutes of the first period when another freshman, midfielder Jelani Rooks, took advantage of a well-executed cross by classmate Robert Gooden to pick up the first goal of his collegiate career.
The tale was the same in the second half, as Amherst netted two more goals in the final 45 minutes. Nine minutes after halftime, junior forward Chris Linsmayer collected his first goal of the season, with Noon getting credited with his first assist.
Linsmayer's tally all but ended the Jumbos' comeback hopes, but Amherst would add another before the final whistle. Gooden
Overall, Amherst outshot Tufts 11-3, had two more corner kicks and dominated time of possession. None of the Jumbos' three shots were on target, allowing sophomore goalkeeper Lennard Kovacs to notch a shutout without having to make a save.
"There aren't many positives to take out of a 4-0 game," junior tri-captain defender Naji Muakkassa said. "But we played well up until the first goal, and it wasn't until we put our heads down after the second goal that Amherst really took control of the game."
The Jumbos will not have much time to think about the defeat, as they'll return to the field on Wednesday night in a 7:00 p.m. non-conference matchup at Springfield College before visiting Wesleyan on Saturday. The Springfield Pride, 2-4 on the season, will be the Jumbos' first unranked opponent so far this season.
"The Springfield College and Wesleyan games are really important for us, because at this point we need to get a win," Muakkassa said.
Even with their struggles, the team remains optimistic about the prospects for the rest of the season. Their next three NESCAC opponents
"We've seen the best. Now we know the level we need to play at and we'll hopefully get some wins soon," Muakkassa said.
