Men's soccer Homecoming game preview: Tufts vs. Conn. College

The Jumbos will look to get back on track this Saturday with their Homecoming game against the Conn. College Camels at 2:30 p.m. on Bello Field. The team comes into this match with an overall record of 8–2–2 and 4–1–2 in conference play. Tufts currently sits in second place of the NESCAC standings, barely ahead of Bates, tied with Conn. College and behind first-place Amherst. With only three games remaining in NESCAC play, Saturday’s heavyweight matchup against Conn. College has major implications on the final NESCAC standings. 

Entering the season as the No. 1 ranked team in the country, the Jumbos justified that ranking in their first seven games by outscoring opponents 23­­–3 en-route to a 7–0 record. The dominant start to the season was highlighted by blowouts of non-conference opponents Framingham State and Wheaton with scores of 4–0 and 6–0, respectively. On Sept. 21, the Jumbos got revenge on the Colby Mules for knocking them out of the NESCAC tournament last season, dominating the Mules in a decisive 4–0 victory. The Jumbos then continued strong conference play by securing a thrilling 1–0 road overtime win against the Bates Bobcats. 

Despite the perfect start to the season, the Jumbos have gone through a bit of a slump in the five games since their win against Bates. During this slump, Tufts has a record of 1–2–2, with a home win against Trinity, away ties to Wesleyan and Hamilton and away losses to Amherst (in overtime) and Babson. The loss against Babson ended what was a 30-game unbeaten streak for Tufts. Despite their mediocre record over the past five games, better days are ahead for the Jumbos, according to coach Josh Shapiro.  

“I thought we got outcompeted at Wesleyan and outcompeted against Babson, but I think our response against Amherst was positive and our response against Hamilton was positive," Shapiro said. "Those were more a victim of us not taking chances, but I felt like the mentality and competition and work ethic was back in those two games. So I actually think we're trending in the right direction, we just have to start finding goals again." 

Senior forward Joe Braun expressed similar optimism when asked about the team's mood following these disappointing results.

“We know that we have not been anywhere close to playing the best soccer that this team is capable of," Braun said. "Obviously, knowing that, we’re still optimistic — we don’t have our heads down." 

The most recent United Soccer Coaches poll ranks the Jumbos as the No. 12 team in the nation after being the No. 1 team for the first five polls. Despite the drop in the national ranking, this is not something that Shapiro is particularly concerned about. 

“I’m not talking about it, I don’t really care," Shapiro said. "My goal was never to be undefeated, my goal was to be in contention to win NESCAC championships and compete to make deep runs in the NCAA tournament and that’s still all in play.”

Braun echoed Shapiro’s lack of concern about the lower national ranking. 

“Obviously you’d like to be on the top as long as possible, but I’m more concerned about where we finish and not where we are now," Braun said. 

The Jumbos will certainly look forward to returning to Bello Field, where they are 5–0 this season. The has almost a full week to prepare for its Homecoming game against Conn. College and hopes that this game will allow the team to snap out of its current slump, as Braun describes. 

“We feel good about this weekend, but we know that it’s going to be a battle and that us and Conn. are two of the best teams in the NESCAC right now and we’re relishing the opportunity.”

The Camels come into this matchup as the No. 11 team in the nation, with an overall record of 7–2–2 and 4–1–2 in NESCAC play. Conn. College's notable results include a colossal 8–2 victory over Trinity, losses to Middlebury and Babson and ties with Williams and Amherst.The Camels are led by Augie Djerdjaj (five goals and four assists) and Matt Butera (two goals and six assists). According to Shapiro, this matchup against Conn. College will be challenging and also different from most games that Tufts has played this year.

“What I’m looking forward to is that they’re going to come and play. We haven’t had a lot of teams come and try to open up and play us straight up. They’re a playing team, they’re a really good soccer playing team, that’s their identity and I look forward to being in a proper soccer game, not just teams smashing balls forward, trying to play on the counter," Shapiro said. "So it should be an attractive, fun brand of soccer, I think they’ll have guys who can worry us and we’ll have guys that can worry them and it should be a great showcase and a great chance for us and the team that is better in both directions has a great chance of winning.”

With current NESCAC standings, this game against Conn. College becomes one of the biggest moments of the season, Braun notes.

“I think obviously this is a pivotal moment in our season right now," Braun said. "Everyone is really looking forward to Conn. to kind of turn things around, and what better way to start that than on Homecoming.”