The men's soccer team endured a disappointing weekend, dropping its Saturday match 1-0 to NESCAC rival Middlebury and then losing 2-1 to Carthage College on Sunday.
The two losses sank the Jumbos' record to 0-3-1, carving out a deep early-season hole. The slow start evokes memories of last season, when the team was winless in its first five games before rallying to win seven of its final nine.
Yesterday afternoon, Tufts hosted Carthage in a non-conference matchup on Bello Field. Carthage came out strong early in the first half, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute when junior forward Brian Santella took a through ball from junior midfielder Chris Fidlow and launched it over the head of junior goalkeeper David McKeon.
Tufts soon recovered its footing, however, and ended up taking four more first half-shots than the visiting Red Men.
"At halftime, Coach [Ralph Ferrigno] told us he was impressed with our first half," sophomore midfielder Bear Duker said.
"Coach said he knew our hearts were into this game and we could turn our season around with a win," senior midfielder Kevin Anglin added.
To that end, the Jumbos came out firing in the second half. Anglin led the attack from the left side, executing several beautiful crosses. The Jumbos finally connected in the 50th minute on a goal by junior midfielder Peter DeGregorio, who took a cross from Anglin right in front of the goal and hit a low shot off the inside of the right post and into the net.
DeGregorio's goal was the third of his career, and the first goal this season scored by a player other than senior tri-captain Greg O'Connell.
"We all wanted to push forward in the second half to score the tying goal," Anglin said. "My goal was to keep hitting crosses and it was great to finally get [a goal]."
Tufts continued to pressure the Carthage defense, but the offense was unable to capitalize on its many opportunities. The tide turned when Carthage scored again in the 77th minute on a goal by senior forward Alex Laurn. The defender guarding Laurn slipped, leaving him one-on-one with McKeon. Many in the crowd hissed, alleging that Laurn pushed the defender.
"He might have pushed off, but we make no excuses," Duker said. "We had plenty of opportunities, and a non-call didn't make the difference."
The Jumbos nearly had their equalizer in the 79th minute, when senior forward Dan Jozwiak headed a ball toward the top-left corner of the goal. But Carthage junior goalkeeper Andy Connor came up with a sensational diving save to knock the ball over the crossbar and keep the Red Men's win intact.
On Saturday, Tufts faced off against NESCAC rival Middlebury and ran into a Panthers squad looking for its third straight shutout win. They got it, blanking the Jumbos and squeaking by with a 1-0 victory.
The game was scoreless until the 59th minute when junior forward Casey Ftorek, last season's NESCAC points leader, scored the game's only goal.
Ftorek took advantage of the Jumbos' difficulty clearing the ball, eventually drilling a lefty shot into the right side of the goal past an outstretched McKeon. Ftorek taunted the most vocal Tufts fans by gesturing with his finger over his mouth as he ran past them.
O'Connell had a chance to tie the game late in the second half when he fired a shot on goal from inside the box. The senior midfielder was thwarted by junior goal Brian Bush, who made a beautiful kick save with his right foot.
The game was extremely physical with referees handing out three yellow cards. The physical intensity combined with the cold, rainy climate to make for an ugly game.
"Our games with Middlebury are always physical," senior midfielder Andrew Drucker said. "And for some reason, the weather is never good."
"NESCAC games are always physical," Duker added. "That's the beauty of this league. Every team is competitive."
The Jumbos must now shift their focus to another league rival, Amherst. With no midweek game on the schedule, the Jumbos have all week to prepare for the Lord Jeffs, who come to Medford Saturday. Amherst is undefeated thus far at 4-0-0.
"So far, [this season has been] d?©j? vu," Drucker said. "But we did some positive things [against Middlebury and Carthage] that we can build on."
Heading into the Amherst game, the midweek lull should help the ailing Jumbos. On the heels of the two games this past weekend, the players are looking forward to some rest.
"My body's hurting right now," Duker said. "I'm looking forward to a week of rest before Amherst." We're going to take it one game at a time."
