With a 4-5-2 overall record and a 3-3 league mark, crunch time arrives for the men's soccer team on Saturday in Williamstown, Mass., against the formidable Williams Ephs. The game will mark the first of the team's three final road matches - all against league opponents - that will decide Tufts' seeding in the postseason.
"Williams is the best team so they are obviously the team to beat," junior forward Mattia Chason said. "But if we were to lose, it wouldn't affect us much because Wesleyan and Conn. are beatable. We don't have to win all the games because we're pretty much in the playoffs already. This is the biggest game, but has the least effect."
The Jumbos will face a first place team that has systematically run over each and every one of its NESCAC opponents this season. Williams currently holds a 7-0 league record and an 11-1 overall mark. The Ephs' only loss this year came against Western New England College on Sept. 21 in a 3-2 battle, and they currently sit at seventh in the nation.
Chason points to several key factors as to why Williams has been dominant over the years.
"Their organization and the quality of the players make them so good," Chason said. "The coach is Italian too, so that helps."
Williams has steamrolled through this season after a 2004 campaign in which it won the NESCAC, only to eventually fall in the Div. III National Tournament 1-0 in double overtime to SUNY-Geneseo. It was the fourth consecutive season in which a Williams team had won the NESCAC.
The Ephs have a stranglehold on first place in the NESCAC and first place in the New England region, and will likely receive a first round bye and host the semifinals and finals of the conference playoffs.
Eph junior forwards John Hillman and Patrick Huffer share the team lead for goals this season with six scores each. Huffer was named NESCAC Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 10 for tallying three goals in wins over Bates and Colby.
Tufts, however, boasts its own powerful junior forward, with Chason garnering the NESCAC's most recent Player of the Week honors. Chason leads all Jumbos with seven goals in addition to his two assists. The Rome, Italy, native has recorded either a goal or an assist in each of the Jumbos' four victories this season.
"To be honest, I didn't know I was player of the week until my teammates told me. I was really happy. I didn't expect to get this in my career at Tufts," Chason said.
Tufts will enter tomorrow's matchup with several goals in mind: buckle down on defense and take advantage of any scoring opportunities Williams allows.
"We are going to have to score on the few chances that we get up top," Chason said. "Focus number one is defense and focus number two will be putting away the few opportunities that we get."
The Jumbos will have their work cut out for them in accomplishing these goals. The Williams offense, led by Hillman and Huffer, has scored 15 goals in the past five games while its defense has surrendered just one goal over that same span. The Eph defense has also let in a mere eight goals this season.
Tufts will continue its final NESCAC run on Tuesday against Wesleyan. The Cardinals are tied with Amherst for fourth in the league at 3-2-1. A win over Wesleyan before heading to 1-6 Connecticut College next Saturday would undoubtedly help Tufts in the playoff standings.
"We're shooting for being fourth in the league and a home field advantage in the first round," Chason said. "The fourth place team plays the fifth place team. Being on top of Wesleyan would give us an advantage against them in the playoffs. That game might determine the home field advantage."
The Jumbos currently sit in the seventh position in the NESCAC behind Williams, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Amherst, Wesleyan and Bates. Colby, Conn. College and Trinity round out the NESCAC standings. With most league teams facing off against NESCAC opponents during the last week of the season, the playoff picture will likely be up in the air until next weekend.
