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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, April 25, 2025

Men's Soccer | After freezing Polar Bears last year, Tufts looks for more of the same

The Men's soccer team had a chance to regroup this week in preparation for tomorrow's NESCAC match against the visiting Bowdoin Polar Bears.

After a 2-1 loss to Bates on the road last Saturday, the squad used the absence of a mid-week game to work on tactical aspects of its game and get some much-needed rest.

"We worked on some team shape - where we are supposed to be on the field offensively and defensively," senior tri-captain Mike Guigli said. "We also worked on some runs our forwards need to be making and we had a day off on Tuesday."

Tufts will enter the game with a 3-4 overall record and even at 2-2 in league play. The Polar Bears are 6-2 overall, with both of their losses coming against NESCAC foes. Bowdoin fell 2-1 to Williams and was shut out by a dominant Middlebury team, 3-0. Both Tufts and Bowdoin have notched wins against Amherst and Colby, but the Bears have the advantage over the Jumbos in the league with their opening-day victory against Bates.

The Jumbos, who relinquished a 1-0 lead midway through the second half of last Saturday's game against Bobcats, will again look to overcome the late-game demons that have plagued the team in each of its four losses this year. Tufts is 3-0 when it holds its opponents scoreless in the second half, and 0-4 when it gives up second half goals.

"Saturday we just came out really slow," Guigli said. "The intensity was really low throughout the game, it was almost inevitable that [the goals were] going to come in the second half. Before the Bates game we were doing well and showed we are able to solve that second half problem. We just need to keep our focus for the full 90 minutes."

The Jumbos have also used this week off to rehab several key injuries. Sophomore midfielder Greg O'Connell and junior tri-captain defender Jon Glass have been out of action recently. While O'Connell will be back in uniform against Bowdoin, Glass is still a question mark on the defensive side.

"O'Connell will be ready for Saturday," Guigli said. "Glass has been running and practicing with us, but it's not looking like he's going to be ready at this point."

Leading the Polar Bear attack will be junior forward Simon Parsons and sophomore midfielder Nick Figueiredo. Parsons leads his team with five goals and two assists this year, while Figueiredo is second on the team with four goals and two assists. One statistic that could pose problems for the Jumbos lies in the fact that Bowdoin has scored 11 of its 18 regular-season goals after halftime.

Last year, Tufts traveled to Bowdoin to face the Bears on the road. In what turned out to be a highlight of the season, the Jumbos overcame the home team in overtime, beating the Polar Bears with a 3-2 win that snapped a two-season losing streak and helped Tufts advance to the NESCAC playoffs.

"It was a really big win for us beating them at their home field last year," Guigli said. "It was probably one of our best games last season. We came out really strong, stayed composed, and played the way we know how to play."

Tomorrow's match will be the second-to-last time the Jumbos will play at home this heavy season. With a bevy of home games early on, Tufts will play its final game at Kraft Field next weekend against Trinity before packing its bags for the remainder of the season.

"It's not a great schedule, but if we beat Bowdoin, we will be in really great shape," Guigli said. "Our second half is probably lighter than the first half, but every game is still going to be a challenge,"

With the latter half of the season ahead of them, the Jumbos can't help but begin to think about the NESCAC playoffs, especially going into two consecutive league matches.

"The playoffs are always in the back of our minds coming in to the second half of the season," Guigli said. "We're thinking about it and hopefully we can get a home game in the first round. That is definitely possible if we win on Saturday."