Tufts men’s soccer was victorious this weekend over both Bates on Saturday and Hamilton on Sunday. With two wins over NESCAC schools, the Jumbos have improved on their undefeated record of 8–0–1 on the season.
The Jumbos dominated both games this weekend, registering five goals from four different players, while conceding none. The shutouts now give the Tufts defense and first-year goalkeeper Erik Lautasix clean sheets on the season.
Tufts cruised to victory over the Hamilton Continentals on Sunday, dominating possession and putting in two goals that sealed the deal early. Super senior midfielder and co-captain Calvin Aroh tallied two goals, with super senior midfielder Travis Van Brewer putting in one of his own to secure the 3–0 victory.
In classic NESCAC fashion, gameplay was extremely physical, with a combined 29 fouls between the two teams.
Aroh’s first goal came from a beautiful cross by sophomore back Gibson Campbell. With the ball dipping down, Aroh’s strike across the goal on a volley put the Jumbos ahead and set the tone early into the game. They led 1–0 just under 12 minutes in to play.
“I saw [Aroh] making a deep run in the box and tried to find him,” Campbell said. “Luckily, I did, and he had a great finish to score the goal.”
A back line that has been stellar for the Jumbos thus far only continued to impress, giving up only one shot on goal all game. Super senior defender and co-captain Biagio Paoletta alongside sophomore defender Max Clivio anchored the defense all weekend long.
“I think we did well to win the first ball, and if not, the second ball and get it out,” Clivio said. “In the second half, we knew we were playing with the wind [at our backs], so we knew it was game over.”
Many new faces saw playing time on Sunday, with 22 total field players getting minutes for the Jumbos.
The day before the Hamilton game, Tufts beat Bates 2–0.
Working both sides of the ball all game, Paoletta netted a goal late in the first half to put Tufts ahead. Paoletta helped the Tufts defense concede only two shots on goal the entire game, with Lauta saving both.
The final blow was delivered late in the second half by junior forward Sean Traynor on a pass from super senior midfielder and co-captain Derek Enge. The goal capped off a torrent-attacking performance for the Jumbos, in which they registered 13 shots. Traynor gave all of the plaudits for the goal to Enge for setting him up to score.
“[Enge] sent a beautiful through ball that got me isolated against one of their center backs,” Traynor said. “All credit to him for a really impressive assist.”
The Jumbos face another tough NESCAC double header this weekend, playing away both days. Tufts will put its undefeated record on the line against Trinity on Saturday and against Middlebury on Sunday.
