Better late than never.
The men's soccer team earned its first win of the season Saturday to move to 1-4-1, defeating the 1-5-1 Bates Bobcats 1-0 on a beautiful goal in overtime by senior striker Dan Jozwiak.
"Getting our first win is a really good feeling," sophomore midfielder Bear Duker said. "It's later than we hoped, but it's still great."
"It's a relief," junior midfielder Peter DeGregorio said. "The first win is really important. It's a bit late, but now we've just got to play the cards we've been dealt."
The win marks the second season in a row that the Bobcats have given the Jumbos their first NESCAC victory. Last year, the victory over Bates spurred Tufts to win four of its next five games, and in 2007 the team hopes for a similar turnaround.
"We needed this win," junior goalkeeper Dave McKeon said. "Mentally, things are going to be different now. Practices will have a lighter atmosphere. Hopefully we can stay on track."
"I try not to think about last year, because if we lose the next game, then the similarities end," Duker said. "With that said, I do hope we win our next four or five games."
With the wind in their favor, the Bobcats came out strong in the first half, testing McKeon with 13 shots, five of them on goal. McKeon responded by recording his first shutout of the season.
"Dave has played well all year," Duker said. "Bates didn't have that many shots, but he played well. In previous games he's lifted us."
"Dave's a really solid goalkeeper," DeGregorio said. "He doesn't lose the ball and he catches everything. In past games, we've had team breakdowns, not individual or defensive breakdowns."
With the game scoreless at halftime, coach Ralph Ferrigno challenged the team to remain focused and avoid a second-half letdown.
"Ever since the first game, we've been working on playing the full 90 minutes," DeGregorio said. "In practice we've tried to play hard the whole time. Coach told us [at halftime] that we hadn't yet put together two good halves. It was great to finally accomplish that."
The swirling wind played a huge factor in the game. The Jumbos had the wind in their favor in the second half and the first half of overtime, allowing them to launch balls down the field and play more aggressively. Tufts fired 13 shots in the second half, one of which was a shot off DeGregorio's foot that hit both posts. The Bobcats struggled with their offensive timing throughout the game, as shown by the 10 offside calls against them.
"Having the wind made a huge difference," McKeon said. "In the second half I was able to launch balls down the field to our forwards. In the first half we had no long balls."
"We were conscious of the wind," DeGregorio said. "[We] tried to play conservatively at the beginning of each half in order to not lose possession of the ball."
Despite the Jumbos' dominance, the team was unable to score in regulation. With less than a minute left, the Bobcats threatened to steal the game when senior forward Brent Morin blasted a shot to the far post. But McKeon was there with the game-saving stop to force overtime.
With disaster averted, the Jumbos redoubled their efforts in overtime, and in the third minute, Jozwiak scored the winning goal. The ball was passed to freshman midfielder Naji Muakassa who was playing on the right side. Muakassa lofted a cross to Jozwiak, who used his 6-foot-4 frame to leap above two Bates defenders and knock a header into the back of the net.
"It was one of the most beautiful goals I've seen in my organized soccer career," Duker said.
Next up for the Tufts squad is a non-conference away game against Plymouth State (3-3-1), a team the Jumbos beat 5-0 last season.
"We beat them last year," McKeon said. "I'm not expecting an easy game, but it's definitely one we can win."
