The men's soccer team earned a home-field berth for the first round of the NESCAC playoffs after consecutive 1-0 victories over NESCAC rivals Hamilton and Bowdoin.
Coming off its first three-match losing streak since 2010, Tufts knew the fate of its season rested in the outcome of the regular season's final two matches.
On Saturday, the Jumbos traveled to Hamilton and did what no team has done in over a year: beat the Continentals on their home turf. On Tuesday, Tufts returned home to take on the hottest team in the NESCAC and dealt Bowdoin their first loss since Sept. 14.
"Winning these last two games was so important because it gives us momentum and confidence heading into the postseason," freshman midfielder Nathan Majumder said. "After a few losses that we knew could've been wins, finishing the regular season with two big conference shutout wins proves to ourselves and everybody else that we can handle adversity and win games when we need to."
History was on the Jumbos' side entering Tuesday's matchup. Last year, the two teams met in the exact same situation, with a home-field berth in the quarterfinals of the conference championship on the line in the final regular season match. The Jumbos edged the Polar Bears in that contest, 2-1, and went on to defeat them three days later in the conference tournament, 3-0.
But Bowdoin entered this year's matchup on a six-match winning streak. Still, the Jumbos knew that if they could play tough in the back and make the Polar Bears work for every chance, they could pull out a victory. Tufts executed this formula flawlessly. Bowdoin had its share of chances early, but freshman goalkeeper Scott Greenwood was solid throughout the match, denying all four shots on goal en route to his ninth shutout of the year.
It was an evenly matched first half, with Bowdoin slightly outshooting Tufts, 4-3. Neither side was able to put one in the net, as the teams entered intermission deadlocked 0-0.
Early in the second half, the Polar Bears had one of their best opportunities of the match when a Jumbos' foul deep in their own territory produced a free kick from roughly 25 yards out. Bowdoin sophomore midfielder Kiefer Solarte delivered a strike towards the top crossbar, but Greenwood timed his leap perfectly and snatched the ball from the air before it had a chance to cross the goal line.
Following Bowdoin's set piece opportunity, Tufts would generate almost all of the scoring chances throughout the rest of the match. The Jumbos finally capitalized on one of Bowdoin's few defensive mistakes.
In the 81st minute, Bowdoin freshman goalkeeper Noah Safian delivered a short goal kick that stayed on the Polar Bears' side of the field. Majumder promptly won the ball from the Bowdoin defender and quickly flicked it up the field toward junior tri-captain midfielder Kento Nakamura.
Nakamura delivered a perfect through ball past the Polar Bears' last defender, which found junior tri-captain forward Max Hoppenot in stride streaking toward the box. Safian broke from his line in a last-ditch effort to stop the Jumbos' attack, but in a display of quick brilliance, Hoppenot popped the ball over an oncoming Safian and watched as it trickled into the goal before the goalkeeper had a chance to recover.
Tufts finished the match with an 11-9 advantage in shots and denied Bowdoin any legitimate scoring chance after the 50th minute. With the win, the Jumbos finished the regular season at 8-5-1 overall and 6-4 in the NESCAC.
Bowdoin will return to Kraft Field again on Saturday, as the Polar Bears will try to avenge their loss against the Jumbos in the first round of the NESCAC tournament.
"We've played well all year at home, and having home field advantage for the first round gives us the support of our fans and forces vBowdoin to come back to our field, where they just lost," Majumder said. "Playing Bowdoin right after beating them makes us even hungrier to send them home again, like we did last year in the first round of the NESCAC tournament."
