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Men's soccer | Late goal hands Tufts a loss in heartbreaking fashion vs. Ephs

It was a game of inches for the men's soccer team on Saturday afternoon.

Williams junior defender Will Ford broke a 1-1 deadlock in the 84th minute of the game, trickling the shot past two lunging Jumbos, and ultimately injuring Tufts' postseason aspirations. The loss dropped Tufts to 6-6-1 (2-5-1 NESCAC), while league-leading Williams improved to 11-1-0 (6-1-0 NESCAC).

While the Ephs celebrated, Tufts freshman goalkeeper Pat Tonelli, who notched five saves on the day, and senior tri-captain Jon Glass protested that the ball had not entirely crossed the line

"From my perspective, it didn't look like it went all the way over," Tonelli said. "A few guys thought it did though. I guess it's just one of those things in sports than can go either way."

"I thought [junior defender Andrew] Drucker cleared it, but half the team saw it one way and half the team another," Glass added. "It happened so fast that it was hard to tell."

The controversial ending overshadowed a dominant performance from the Williams squad. From the opening whistle, Tufts looked tentative, while the Ephs took control of the game with aggressive tackling and attacking.

"I was hoping to get more from our play, to be perfectly honest," coach Ralph Ferrigno said. "We didn't control the ball particularly well today, but Williams was excellent, to be fair."

The Ephs generated numerous chances in the opening minutes. Junior winger Kit Fuderich overwhelmed the defense with his ball-handling skills on the right side. Williams looked certain to score in the 11th minute, after a cross from Fuderich set up a close-range shot, but Glass cleared the shot off the line to prevent a goal.

A minute later, communication problems in the back - a problem that had plagued the Jumbos earlier this season-resulted in a dangerous turnover, but Williams' senior striker John Hillman overshot his attempt from 15 yards out.

In the 16th minute, Tufts responded with one of its better offensive sequences, stringing together a series of combination plays. The buildup resulted in a shot from 20 yards by freshman midfielder Bear Duker, but the Williams defense swarmed, and the shot went high.

Williams continued to control the latter stages of the first half. Anchored by senior All-American defender Dana Leary, the Ephs' back line dominated the aerial battle and kept the ball in the Jumbos' defensive third.

"I was marking [Leary, who was moved up to the front line] in the second half, and he was throwing me around like I wasn't even there," Glass said. "He's a big target who can create mismatches."

As a result, the Ephs had a commanding advantage in shots, 22-4, and corner kicks, 11-3, for the game. Williams finally scored in the 29th minute when senior midfielder Matt Nolan buried a shot in the lower left corner past a diving Tonelli.

Tufts appeared to relax after falling behind 1-0. The quality of the Jumbos' attack improved, earning them two corner kicks, and culminating in junior tri-captain Greg O'Connell's evening the score in the 39th minute. O'Connell received a short drop-pass from senior striker Ben Castellot and made a beautiful strike from 30 yards out, curling it away from the goalkeeper and into the upper-left corner of the net.

In the beginning of the second frame, Williams regained the momentum it had lost after O'Connell's goal, applying significant pressure to Tufts' defense. Several crosses and forays into the box forced Tonelli to stay on his toes, but the keeper's solid play kept the score knotted at 1-1.

O'Connell left the game with a knee injury in the 69th minute, further harming an already anemic Tufts offense. The midfielder missed several games earlier this year due to a similar injury, and as such, he took himself out of the game as a precaution. He will have an MRI this week, but thinks he'll be ready to go on Saturday against Connecticut College.

"Greg leaving the game didn't bolster our cause," Ferrigno said. "He's a captain, an emotional leader on this team, and a physical presence in the midfield."

The injury punctuated a wave of growing physicality in the game, as the refs whistled the teams for a combined 35 fouls on the day. In the 68th minute, the referee went to his pocket for a yellow card after a cleats-up slide-tackle by Fuderich, and did so again in the 81st, handing Tufts sophomore midfielder Peter DeGregorio his third caution in two games.

The Jumbos will host Connecticut College on Oct. 28 with their playoff hopes on the line.

"It's my last game at home, and if we don't win, it might be my last game ever," said Glass. "I know what's at stake, and the other seniors know what's at stake."