Tufts men’s soccer started NESCAC play with a 1–0 win against Williams College last weekend. The teams battled for nearly 87 minutes without a goal, but the scoreless streak was eventually broken by sophomore forward Xavier Canfin. While the Jumbos had many good shots on goal throughout the game, Canfin’s shot, assisted by graduate student midfielder Liam Gerkin and junior midfielder James Gunn, was the only one that found the back of the net.
Canfin explained that this contest shows how tight many soccer games are, especially in the NESCAC where teams are closely matched.
“All these games we play could be decided by one moment, and we try to take advantage of those moments that we get,” Canfin said.
Junior defender Mateo Bargagna explained just how important it was that Canfin was able to score a goal with only three minutes left.
“That's a huge moment,” Bargagna said. “We needed someone to step up and score for us, and he did.”
After the Jumbos scored, the Ephs could not catch back up. They fought for a goal in the final three minutes, but they couldn’t get past the Jumbos’ impenetrable defense. Though the 1–0 score doesn’t show it, the Jumbos dominated much of the game. Tufts took 15 shots while Williams took only nine. The ball spent most of the time near the Ephs’ goal, and their defense barely defended many of the Jumbos’ attempts to score.
Despite the low-scoring game, the Jumbos kept up their energy and confidence. Junior midfielder Daniel Yanez explained that this attitude and grit helped Tufts apply offensive pressure through the end of the game to score the game-winning goal.
“I thought our energy and belief was there all the way through, so despite the tough circumstances, we were able to pull through,” Yanez said.
Along with the strong offense, especially near the end of the game, the Tufts defense successfully kept Williams from scoring. Bargagna explained that team morale was incredibly important on defense as well.
“We worked hard to not concede a goal,” Bargagna said. “We believed, and fought through, and finally got a goal in the last three minutes, which was huge.”
Yanez explained that the team is excited about some of the younger members, especially sophomores, stepping up in the game against Williams. Along with Canfin’s game-winning goal, sophomore midfielder Ben Brown was an impressive force helping both the offense and defense.
“We're really excited about [Canfin’s] potential, and I think that goal is the sign for hopefully a few more in the future,” Yanez explained. “[Brown] really stood up to the challenge, I thought he was a beast in the middle, winning 50/50s, [and] winning [headed] balls.”
Along with their win against Williams, Tufts opened their season with a 1–0 win against Massachusetts Institute of Technology, giving them a solid start to the 2024 season. The Jumbos are confident in their team and are looking forward to a strong season, and the past two games have only added to that.
“I don't think we look at a single matchup and don’t think we should win it,” Yanez said. “We all think the sky is the limit for our team, but now it's about proving that to ourselves and everyone else by getting results.”
Bargagna explained that there are always ways to improve, and he hopes the team uses the coming games as a way to strengthen their skills. The Jumbos did a great job both creating chances to score and defending their net, but as they face more difficult opponents, they will need to capitalize on those opportunities more often.
“It's a good start, for sure, but we have a big test this weekend with two games,” Bargagna said. “We just have to keep building off those two wins and keep improving.”
Tufts hopes to continue their undefeated streak this weekend with two home games. Tufts will play Colby College on Saturday and Connecticut College on Sunday at Bello Field.
“Since I've been here, we haven't started a season 2–0, so I think it bodes really well,” Yanez said. “Getting a huge win away this weekend hopefully propels us towards our home doubleheader this weekend.”
Canfin explained that the Jumbos will continue to take their season one game at a time, starting with Colby College on Saturday.
“Our team motto is 1–0 every day,” Canfin explained. “We try to approach every game like it's the last game we're going to play in the season. Then once that game is over, we look straight to the next game.”
The Jumbos are all excited to continue their season and hope to keep succeeding as a team.
“I’m just really proud of all the guys on the team,” Canfin said. “It doesn’t really matter who scores, who assists or [who] the best player in the game [is]. It just matters that every single player on the team understands that we’re just working towards a common goal.”
