Four days after its dramatic double-overtime loss to Colby in its first NESCAC game of the season, the men's soccer team found itself battling through two extra periods once again, this time on the road against New England College (NEC). But while the loss to the Mules ended after a last-second goal, the offensive drought for both squads Wednesday night lasted through two overtime periods and the contest finished in a 0-0 tie — Tufts' first such scoreless affair since an Oct. 2, 1999 contest against Bates.
The tie brought Tufts' record to 2-1-0 overall, while NEC maintained its above-.500 clip and now sits at 3-2-1 on the season.
"A tie is better than a loss, but it's always a disappointing result for the better team," junior forward Dan Schoening said. "And we felt we were that team."
Senior tri-captain Dave McKeon stopped four shots on the day to record his third shutout of the season, and the Jumbo defense put together another solid performance, stifling a NEC squad that had tallied eight goals in its previous three games. The Pilgrims came closest to finding the back of the net in the 23rd minute when sophomore Nick Monocchio connected on a header that hit the crossbar.
"The defense played well with the ball and its organization was really good," said junior tri-captain Bear Duker, who sat out the game with a groin injury. "They played with strength and power, which are the most important things for a defense to have."
Yet, after putting up two goals in each of the team's first two games, the Jumbos' offense had gone cold, producing just one goal in the last 228 minutes of play.
"We couldn't put the ball in the net," Duker said. "We had some opportunities [Wednesday] but didn't capitalize on them."
While goal scoring proved to be a problem for the 2007 squad — a team that ranked ninth in the NESCAC with a 1.29 goals per game average — Duker said he doesn't think that the troubles will persist this year.
"It's become apparent that even though we're young and inexperienced, we have people who can play," he said. "We're going to win games with our heart and passion. We were unlucky today but I'm confident that goals will come and we'll be able to show some teams up."
"We're a relatively young team, so any adversity that we face is good experience," Schoening said. "Every little thing gives us a lot to learn from."
A testament to the diversity of the Jumbo offense thus far, the five goals that Tufts has scored this season have come from five different players. While that statistic points to a well-balanced attack, it also underscores the fact that the Jumbos lack a go-to guy up front.
"It's not a concern for us," Schoening said. "It shows that we're a team capable of playing well together. We just have to come out and play as strong as we can. We don't look much into the past because we want to keep moving forward."
Tufts' next challenge will be a long-anticipated rematch tomorrow on Kraft Field against the Conn. College Camels, the team that knocked the Jumbos out of the playoffs last year in a 2-1 overtime thriller on the last day of the regular season.
For the Camels, who are 1-0 in the conference and 1-1-0 overall, this season marks the last hurrah for coach Bill Lessig, who has manned Conn. College's program for 37 years. The Jumbos will try to prevent Lessig -- whose 265 wins rank fourth among active NCAA Div. III coaches in New England -- from notching number 266.
Once more, Tufts' NESCAC opening loss to Colby leaves the Jumbos hungry for their first victory in conference play, while Conn. College jumped out to a solid start in NESCAC play by defeating Trinity 3-2 in double overtime on Saturday.
But despite the game's subtext, the low number of players left from last season's roster should help prevent the team from losing focus in its quest for its first conference win of the season.
"There are only a few of us who were at the game still on the team," Duker said. "What's more important is that it's a NESCAC game and we'll approach it like any other tough NESCAC game."
