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Women's Soccer | Jumbos defeat Conn College, win regular season title

October 31

Sometimes the cards just happen to fall the right way. After holding off the Connecticut College Camels 1-0 in New London on Saturday, the fate of the women's soccer team was still in the air. To seal their claim to the regular-season title, the Jumbos would need some help from other NESCAC teams. They got it almost immediately after the game ended as word came in that Amherst had defeated Williams in a 1-0 nail-biter, giving Tufts the top seed and homefield advantage heading into the playoffs. "I heard somebody whisper something to coach and I turned around started yelling 'Amherst beat Williams!'" sophomore Martha Furtek said. "It was a huge relief. I think we all knew that if we did our part and won, things would fall into place for us, and they did." The squad got on the board early against the Camels on a corner kick from Furtek. Junior center back Jen Fratto, the squad's tallest player, migrated up from the defensive end to give the Jumbos some extra height around the goal. The strategy paid off, as Fratto connected on a header for her first goal of the season to put Tufts up 1-0 just four minutes into the game. In the 13th minute, senior tri-captain Lindsay Garmirian took a pass and raced past the Camel defense on the left flank, poised to give the Jumbos their second goal in under 15 minutes. Conn College senior goalie Kate Simmons came charging out to make the save as Garmirian slid to try and poke the ball past her. The two collided ten yards from the goal, and Garmirian's spikes connected with Simmons' ankle. Simmons was forced to leave the game with what appeared to be a severe ankle sprain, and freshman Sarah Beaudoin stepped in as her replacement. To her credit, the freshman did a remarkable job in relief, shutting out the Jumbo offense without having warmed up at all. Tufts, however, certainly did its part to make Beaudoin look good, as the Jumbos were unable to capitalize on several excellent opportunities around the goal. "We definitely had a lot of trouble finishing opportunities against them," Furtek said. "We really should've been able to take advantage of how nervous their backup keeper must have been. If we had scored a second goal right when she came in, it would've put the game away for us. Unfortunately, we like to keep things exciting for our audience and stressful for our coaches." The squad realizes that it must step up on offense next weekend if it intends to take home the NESCAC crown. "If we don't finish opportunities next weekend, we're going to have a lot of trouble and make things much harder for ourselves than we need to," Furtek said. "If we can start capitalizing on our offensive chances, there isn't any team in the conference who can beat us." Once again, the Jumbo defense was remarkable as unit, earning its seventh shutout of the year. Tufts finished the regular season with seven goals allowed in NESCAC play, and just ten overall, both good for conference bests. "The defense was great," senior tri-captain Ariel Samuelson said. "The score doesn't reflect the game at all. We need to start finishing the ball so that we end up with the 'right' score. But despite that, the defense really played strong and preserved our lead all game." "Our defense has been solid all year long and they have been helping [junior keeper] Annie [Ross] out by minimizing the shots on goal," sophomore Lauren Fedore added. "That being said, whenever opponents have gotten through, Annie has come up huge and made some spectacular saves to keep us in games." The first-round bye the Jumbos received with the win will give them some crucial time off this week, allowing them to rest several injured players. Senior tri-captain Sarah Callaghan remains sidelined with an LCL injury and Fedore is still out with a knee injury sustained in the team's Oct. 22 game against Williams. Stepping up in a big way in the team's game against Conn. College, however, were freshman Abby Werner and junior Kim Harrington. "There's no way that a team can be great with only 11 players because the chances of people not getting injured or tired throughout the season are really slim," Samuelson said. "So it was so crucial to us that our non-starters were able to step it up in the absence of Lauren and Sarah." The Jumbos will use this week to prepare for Saturday's semifinal match with Colby in the second of two semifinal games. The first one will feature a matchup between Maine's two other NESCAC schools, Bates and Bowdoin, who reached the round of four through respective wins over Williams and Middlebury. A win over Colby will be especially sweet for Tufts, as the Mules defeated Tufts 2-0 on opening day of the 2005 season. "I think we all will be extra motivated to beat Colby because they embarrassed us," Samuelson said. "I was actually really mad that Williams got knocked out, because it's always nice to beat the teams in the tourney that you lost to or tied in the regular season."

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Men's Soccer | Middlebury eliminates Jumbos for the third straight year

October 31

Though the game differed from last year in more than a few ways, the end result was all too familiar for the men's soccer team. Tufts lost to the Middlebury Panthers in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs, 1-0, on Sunday. It was the team's third consecutive playoff loss to Middlebury and ended the Jumbos' season at 5-8-2. Last year's defeat came after a Tufts collapse in the final minutes that allowed Middlebury to score four unanswered goals. But this year's game was decided just eight minutes into the match. "We were really confident and excited that we were getting another chance to play Middlebury, a team that we have had trouble against in the past," senior tri-captain Mike Guigli said. "We knew as a team that we could beat them and redeem ourselves for what happened last year." "Our game plan was to go strong at them just like we did last year in the playoffs," junior scoring leader Mattia Chason added. "We were all very united and ready to give it a hundred percent on the field. We were all mentally and physically ready." As has been typical of contests between the two teams, the game was a hard-fought physical battle from the start. The Panthers tallied the only goal of the day when senior co-captain Derek Cece drilled a penalty kick into the lower corner of the goal past diving freshman keeper Brian Dulmolvits at the 7:50 mark. Tufts had several chances of its own early on, including two opportunities from Chason that were saved by Panther junior goalie Zach Toth. The team's best chance came when the Jumbos were awarded an indirect free kick ten yards out that Guigli drilled towards a leaping Middlebury wall "The kick was unusual because it was setup around the ten yard line so Middlebury's wall was setup across the goal line," Guigli said. "They had their entire team lined up across the line. The only thing that I could do was take a hard shot and hope it found its way through the crowd. Unfortunately it didn't." Tufts appeared to tie the match in the waning minutes of the first half, but a foul called in the penalty box before the ball crossed the line negated the score. "The team played well in the first half and we created a number of good chances," Chason said. "However, the referee made some very questionable calls which made life a lot tougher on us. It was one of those games. There is no one explanation." The second half consisted of more physical, even play in the middle of the field as Tufts desperately tried to draw even. The Panthers, however, proved impenetrable and sent Tufts home empty-handed for the third consecutive year. With the win, Middlebury advances to play Amherst, a team Tufts beat in the regular season, in the second round of the playoffs next Saturday at Williams. Tufts earned the fateful sixth seed for this year's tournament after falling to the lowly Conn.College Camels on Saturday, 2-1. It was the first time in the 21st century that the Camels had triumphed over Tufts, and the loss denied the Jumbos the opportunity to play fifth-seeded Bates in the first round rather than the No. 3 Panthers. "We definitely came out flat against Conn. College," Guigli said "They were a team with nothing to lose because they already knew that they weren't going to qualify for the playoffs. A team with nothing to lose is dangerous." The Camels took the lead just 20 minutes into the match when senior Everett Phillips headed a cross from the outside that bounced off the crossbar. Phillips then managed to get his head on the ricochet and angle the ball past Dulmolvits. Chason scored for the Jumbos after a feed from fellow junior forward Ben Castellot. His high shot to the upper part of the net was the junior's ninth score of the year, just short of a personal goal. "It was important for me to score early in the game so I could get some momentum going and hopefully score a few more," Chason said. "However, the game went in the wrong direction and what we thought would be an easy win turned out to be a disappointing loss. My goal was to reach ten goals this season and I was one shy of that." Conn. College came out on fire in the second half, taking up their spoiler role with speed and intensity. The Camels' aggressive play paid off in the 62nd minute when senior Michael Kosac scored the go-ahead goal. Rallying efforts by Tufts sophomore Greg O'Connell, Guigli and Chason proved fruitless as the final whistle blew out Tufts' hopes of a fourth or fifth playoff seed. Guigli, though obviously disappointed and frustrated with the weekend's results, doesn't see this early exit from the playoffs as a total loss, emphasizing the Jumbos' effort and teamwork against a powerful Middlebury squad. "I hate to end the season like this, going out so early in the playoffs, because I had high expectations for this year," he said. "With that being said, I have no regrets because I know I left everything I had on the field and I know my teammates did too." Chason echoed the tri-captain's sentiments. "We always gave our best effort in every single game of the season," he said. "This year's team was extremely united. We helped each other and cheered each other up at all times. There was no competition within the team and everyone accepted his role with professionalism."

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Men's Soccer Sidebar | Injuries plague young squad and force elimination

October 31

While Saturday's loss marked an all-too-familiar end to the Jumbos' season, the young Tufts squad goes into the off-season looking to return more experienced, stronger and healthier for 2006. As a team that carried only three seniors (tri-captains Todd Gilbert and Mike Guigli, and defender Mike Lingenfelter) and only had three juniors seeing significant minutes (tri-captain Jon Glass and forwards Mattia Chason and Ben Castellot), Tufts knew from day one this fall that working young talent into the system would be an uphill battle. The team was also riddled by injuries this season. Glass and sophomore midfielder Greg O'Connell were among the Jumbos sidelined and slowed by injuries over the course of the fall, and a health condition kept junior defender Aaron Nass off the field for the entire season. While the injury bug bites every program, Tufts needed every veteran to play an integral role with so many young bodies contributing for the first time. "I think it could have been a completely different season if [Nass] could have played," Glass said. Middlebury, with five seniors and six juniors who saw regular action over the course of the season, out-muscled Tufts and benefited from a pair of questionable calls on Saturday. "I think more than experience, [Middlebury has] just had a lot of calls go their way," the junior tri-captain said. "The ball has never bounced our way. They're physical and experienced, and they've been playing that way for a long time now." For the moment, though, Tufts finds itself once again on the outside looking in, pondering what might have been in 2005 and what it hopes to accomplish in the future. "We can only go up from here," Glass said. "We're losing Guigli, Todd [Gilbert], and Mike [Lingenfelter], but I think we have a lot of young players that can step into their roles, and it will be our third year playing together."

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Women's Soccer | With streak over, Jumbos look to win last regular season game

October 27

The Women's soccer team saw its 11-game win streak come to a surprising end Wednesday as it lost to ninth place Wesleyan Cardinals. Coming off a hard-fought tie at Williams last Saturday the team just could not put it together and finish shots. The final score was 1-0. Cardinal junior Danielle Crystal scored the only goal just 4:38 into the contest, as she jumped on a botched goal kick and punched the ball into the right corner of the net. The Cardinals held on thanks to freshmen goalies Gavi Elkind and Andrea Giuliano. They made seven saves apiece to clinch the victory. Tufts is now in a three way tie for first place in the NESCAC with Williams and Amherst at 5-2-1. "It was just one of those games," coach Martha Whiting said. "It seemed to be a bad combination of us being a little off and them being very on." Senior tri-captain Sarah Callaghan, who has been out for the last three weeks with a sprained LCL, saw similarities between the game and the match against Colby, Tufts' only other loss this year. "There were people who played really well as individuals, but we just didn't come together as a team," she said. The Wesleyan team, already eliminated from playoff action, was gunning for an upset. "They were playing their best and you could tell they wanted to be spoilers," Whiting said. "It was their Senior Day and a very emotional game for them, so they came out excited and played like it." Though the loss hurt, it was not the end of the world. "If we are going to lose, that was the time to do it," Whiting said. "It is much better than losing next week [in the playoffs.] We know what we are capable of, so now it's more a matter of settling back into our groove." The Jumbos have little time to dwell on their loss. They are preparing for their final regular season game Saturday at Connecticut College. Whiting is not planning to change anything on the field heading into the team's final matchup. "I don't think we have any tactical or strategy problems," she said. "I think it's more of a mental issue. We just need to get that confidence back." Connecticut College is a very winnable match for Tufts. At 2-6, the Camels sit in eighth place in the NESCAC but are coming off two consecutive victories, including a 2-0 win at Trinity. There will not be any lack of motivation in the game. With a win, the team still has a very good chance of hosting the NESCAC Tournament and earning a crucial first round bye. "One of our goals at the beginning of the year was to host the tournament, so it is definitely on our minds," Whiting said. "We have a team that knows how to win, so we just need to rise to the challenge. I am confident that we will." Though it is the third straight game on the road, the team knows that as long as it stays focused good things will happen. "At this point of the season, every game is the biggest game of the year, so we have to continually increase our intensity level," Callaghan said. "We can't be afraid that we are going to lose, and that has to start on Saturday." The Jumbos are a little banged up and not quite as healthy as they would like to be. The team missed sophomore Lauren Fedore, who injured her knee in the game at Williams. Fedore and Callaghan will be out until the playoffs. "At the end of a season it's normal for people to feel tired and sore, but the adrenaline of the upcoming playoffs has to overcome that," Callaghan said. Whiting said that every team in the conference is in the same boat. "It's a possibility that we are a little worn down, but you can say that about anybody, so we aren't using it as an excuse," she said. "I think we've done a good job of giving days off and not overworking the girls. We'll be ready."

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Men's Soccer | Team takes down Cardinals after a soggy Middletown matchup

October 27

As the Nor'easter caused by Hurricane Wilma walloped New England on Tuesday, the men's soccer team faced a rare occurrence in its sport: its scheduled NESCAC game against Wesleyan was postponed due to the weather. Instead of playing its most important match of the year, as far as playoffs were concerned, on Tuesday, the team was forced to play Wednesday on a water-logged field in Middletown, Conn. "The field was terrible; probably the worst field we've played on," senior tri-captain Mike Guigli said. "It was so torn up; it was almost like playing on a beach. It was basically like the tailgating field after homecoming." Teams often falter under similar conditions, but Tufts managed to grind out a crucial NESCAC victory, 2-0, over the Cardinals. The win put the Jumbos in position to possibly secure a home game in the first round of the playoffs with a win over Connecticut College on Saturday. "This was a really big win for us," said Guigli, who scored the first of Tufts' two goals on Wednesday. "The extra day off came as a surprise, but we played with a lot of heart to get a win in bad conditions like that. The game came down to who wanted it more. They came out flat and we played well." Guigli scored his goal just under 20 minutes into the first half from 35 yards out. This first goal of the match put the Jumbos ahead almost by mistake. "[The goal] wasn't really meant to even be a shot, it was a cross," Guigli said. "The wind was blowing really hard and when I crossed the ball, the wind carried it up and through the goalie's hands." Junior striker Mattia Chason added an insurance goal for the Jumbos with just short of 10 minutes remaining in the match. Chason broke free and beat Wesleyan goalie Jamie Hiteshew one-on-one to net his team-leading eighth goal of the season. The Tufts defense, along with freshman keeper Brian Dulmolvits, managed to keep Wesleyan scoreless despite the sloppy conditions. Dulmolvits came away with his fourth shutout of the year helping to bring Tufts' record to 5-6-2 overall and an even 4-4 in the league. The Jumbo victory snapped the Cardinals' seven-game unbeaten streak and dropped Wesleyan to 6-3-3 (3-3-2 NESCAC) on the season. The Cardinals will travel to Bowdoin on Saturday to wrap up their season against the league's second place team. Tufts, on the other hand, will travel to New London to take on the Connecticut College Camels, the second worst team in the NESCAC. If history has any bearing on the upcoming matchup, the Jumbos should be feeling optimistic. Tufts has beaten Connecticut College in the two teams' previous five meetings by a combined score of 12-2. The Camels are 1-7 in the NESCAC this year with their only win coming to last place Trinity in a 1-0 result on Oct. 19. Their opponents have outscored them 24-7 this season. Though the odds are stacked in their favor, Guigli and the Jumbos are not taking this game lightly. "In the past, Connecticut College hasn't had the strongest teams, but we haven't gotten the scouting report from our coach yet," Guigli said. "We're going to go into this game just like any other game. It's very important that we win." This game will wrap up the regular-season schedule for the Jumbos. With a win, coach Ralph Ferrigno's young squad would end up 6-6-2 with a 5-4 winning record in the competitive NESCAC. The team will hardly have time to think about its final record after Saturday's game, however, as the playoffs begin on Sunday. Location will be determined by the outcomes of several Saturday games.

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Women's Soccer | One hundred ten minutes yield no winner: Jumbos fight to scoreless tie

October 23

While the Jumbo record ten-game win streak came to an end on Saturday afternoon, the team still walked off Williams' Cole Field with an 11-game undefeated streak intact. The match, which pitted the No. 6 Jumbos against the No. 24 Ephs, lived up to expectation. The two teams battled incessantly, fighting to a 0-0 tie on a cold and rainy afternoon in Williamstown, Mass. "It was really frustrating," sophomore Martha Furtek said. "We came out flat again and were diving into tackles, which allowed them to switch the field a lot. But we gained our composure and started being more patient on defense, which helped generate offensive opportunities, too." The tie puts the Jumbos at 10-1-1 overall (5-1-1, NESCAC), a half game ahead of the lurking Ephs (5-2-1) in conference play. Heading into the last week of action, the Jumbos now control their own destiny. If they defeat Wesleyan and Conn. College this week, they'll receive a first round bye in the NESCAC tournament and host the semifinals and finals as the No. 1 seed. The Ephs came out flying on their home field, pressing the Jumbo defense, which has been remarkable all season. After losing its last two games, Williams was hungry to strike first against Tufts. The Jumbo back four and junior keeper Annie Ross continued their strong play, however, quelling three early Williams corner kicks and transitioning the ball to the offensive end. "After a three-and-a-half hour drive, it's hard to come out flying," sophomore defender Joelle Emery said. "They were out to beat us; they've lost their last two games and didn't want to lose another on their home field." The Ephs had a golden opportunity 20 minutes into the contest, when sophomore leading scorer Ana Sani kicked a bullet at Ross from the top of the 18. Ross blocked the shot but was unable to gain possession, and the ball made its way directly to freshman Gabby Woodson. Woodson ripped a shot at the post, but Ross laid out to her right, snaring the ball three feet in the air to keep the game scoreless. "It was ridiculous," Emery said. "She was on the ground, and sprung up and fully extended herself in the air to catch the ball. It was one of best saves I've ever seen." Tufts had a point blank opportunity of its own just two minutes later, when sophomore Lauren Fedore curled a 20-yard bullet at the left post, but Williams junior keeper Sarah Ginsburg dove to her right, barely able to tip it out of bounds. The Jumbos had another chance late in the half, when miscommunication in the Williams defense left three Tufts forwards facing a single Eph defender deep in the zone. Furtek beat the defender cleanly, but her shot sailed just over the crossbar and the score remained 0-0. "I don't know what to say other than we just didn't have luck on our side," Furtek said. Both teams came out in the second half and applied the same pressure. Both had ample offensive opportunities, but strong defensive play on both sides of the field, reinforced by remarkable goalkeeping by Ginsburg and Ross, kept the match scoreless. The two overtime sessions were defensive showcases, as Tufts' back four was able to limit on-target shots from Sani, sophomore Jessie Freeman and Woodson. Ross finished the game with a season-high 11 saves while Ginsburg tallied eight. Ross's zero goals allowed moved her atop the conference with 0.75 GAA. Williams, to its credit, was able to shut down Tufts' senior tri-captain and NESCAC scoring leader Ariel Samuelson all afternoon. Led early on by the presence of senior co-captain Elise Henson, the Eph back four was able to neutralize Samuelson. It marked the first time in six games that Samuelson failed to find the net, and just the third time all season she failed to record a point in a Jumbo match. While Henson suffered an ankle injury in the second half, the back four still kept Samuelson and the rest of the Jumbos off the board, largely due to the absence of senior tri-captain Sarah Callaghan, who is out indefinitely with an LCL injury. Callaghan's ability to create shots for her teammates would have been invaluable against the Ephs. "Sarah brings so much to the team," Furtek said. "She creates so many opportunities up front and wins so many balls because of her speed. We definitely miss her a lot, but we've had so many injuries this season that we know that we just have to pick it up and keep trying to get it done." The Jumbos have a huge NESCAC week ahead of them, starting on Wednesday against Wesleyan. The Cardinals are winless in the NESCAC at 0-5-2, but have impressive ties at home against Middlebury and Colby in recent weeks. On Saturday, the Jumbos face the Conn. College Camels, who currently sit tied for eighth place in the conference at 1-6, with their one win coming against the struggling Cardinals. If Tufts defeats both squads, it will be off next Sunday with a bye in the first round of the tournament and will host the semifinals and finals the following week. "It's always nice to know that we control what happens to us," Callaghan said. "We just have to stay focused on these last two games and not start looking ahead."

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Men's Soccer | Williams flexes NESCAC-dominant muscles

October 23

Despite rainy, sloppy conditions on Williams College's Cole Field on Saturday, one fact remained true: the conditions had the same effect on both teams. But only Williams was able to overcome the environment and find the back of the net, as the Ephs (12-1-0, 8-0-0 NESCAC), ranked seventh nationally in Div. III, blanked the Men's soccer team 3-0. The first half was marked by a missed opportunity and an unlucky whistle. With the game scoreless, Tufts senior tri-captain Todd Gilbert fired a shot from 25 yards out that beat Williams senior goalkeeper Nick Arrington, but the ball clipped the crossbar and stayed out of the net. The missed shot eventually proved to be the Jumbos' best chance of the day, as Arrington needed to make only three saves to post his fourth consecutive shutout. The Ephs opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the game's 35th minute. Williams sophomore forward Kit Fuderich was on a breakaway with only Tufts freshman keeper David McKeon between him and the goal. McKeon, attempting to prevent a goal, took Fuderich down and the referee deemed the play unclean. On the ensuing penalty kick, junior forward Patrick Huffer, who made the pass to Fuderich, hammered home his shot to give Williams a 1-0 lead going into halftime. "We gave the ball away deep in our half on the sideline, and [Huffer] split our defense with a pass," senior tri-captain Todd Gilbert said. "Dave came out, the guy dribbled around him, and Dave had to take him out." That was not the first time on Saturday that McKeon was put in a tough spot. An elbow injury in practice during the week to the team's regular keeper, freshman Brian Dulmovits, left the position between the pipes up in the air until game day. McKeon was granted his first career start and put forth a gutsy performance, making five saves under the difficult circumstances. "I don't think Dave even knew he was starting until right before the team was announced [on Saturday]," Gilbert said. "It's tough to make your first collegiate start against a team like Williams, but he did a great job and made some big saves for us." Unfortunately for Tufts, the second half was just like the first. Huffer again found the back of the net only three minutes into the half, beating McKeon after taking a well-placed pass from classmate Tommy Day. With the score at 2-0 in favor of the Ephs, the deck was stacked against a Tufts comeback. The Jumbos could not muster anything in the next ten minutes, and Williams put the game on ice in the 57th minute. Senior forward Josh Bolton took a feed from junior midfielder Dan MacGregor and slipped the ball inside the left post for the third and final goal of the game. Gilbert attributed the loss to his team's inability to possess the ball consistently. "The main problem was us giving the ball away too cheaply," he said. "And you just can't do that against a team like Williams." With Tufts only able to muster as many shots on net as its opponents managed to score (three), the class of the NESCAC and all of New England was on display on Saturday. Williams, now a perfect 8-0 in the conference, secured a first round playoff bye with the win and has outscored NESCAC opponents 21-3 this fall. The Ephs have won the conference tournament every year since 2001 and are an astounding 38-4-2 in league play since that time. "[Williams just doesn't] have any weaknesses," Gilbert said. "Every player on their team plays at such a high level. They can sub in five or six guys from their bench that will play just as well as their starters, so they can really run teams down. And they also have some players with great skills." The Jumbos have more pressing issues at hand as they finish the regular season this week in the hopes of an ideal playoff game situation on Sunday. No matter what, the plan is for Tufts, which controls its own playoff destiny, to be playing games on three of the next six days. The team will be preparing for what could be the busiest week of the season. "A few of our players are pretty banged up," Gilbert said. "I think it will be a lighter week of training just to get everyone healthy."

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Men's Soccer Feature | Time to make playoff choices

October 23

With the playoffs set to kick off next Sunday, Oct. 30, final seedings are far from decided for Men's soccer teams around the NESCAC. While undefeated Williams will run away with first place, the second through seventh seeds will be determined by head-to-head competition this week. Despite a 3-0 loss to Williams on Saturday, Tufts is right in the thick of the playoff hunt. The Jumbos have a 3-4 league record going into this week's crucial games against Wesleyan (3-2-2) and Conn. College (1-7) on Tuesday and Saturday, respectively. "These next two games are both must-wins for us," senior tri-captain Todd Gilbert said. "We only need a tie to guarantee ourselves a spot, but we definitely want to win both games and have some momentum going into the playoffs." Several scenarios could play out depending on the outcomes of these games. If Tufts wins both its games this week, the Jumbos will finish the season at 5-4 in the league. This record could result in the fourth seed and a first round home game. But if Amherst loses to the Williams juggernaut and Bates beats lowly Colby, both teams would finish at 4-3-2. Tufts would have the advantage in wins over these two teams, but would have one more tally in the loss column. With Bowdoin and Middlebury currently tied for second place at 6-2, Tufts could end up with the short end of the stick and a fifth seed in this scenario. If Tufts loses to Wesleyan, but beats Conn. College, its 4-5 record would put the team out of the running for fourth place and home field advantage. The Jumbos would still be in the hunt for a fifth seed which would allow them to play either Amherst, Bates or Wesleyan rather than Bowdoin or Middlebury - two teams that beat the Jumbos by a combined score of 7-0 this season. In the final scenario, even if Tufts loses both its games this week, it could still be eligible for the playoffs. Finishing 3-6 could tie the Jumbos with Colby for the seventh seed if the Mules upset Bates, but Tufts holds the regular season advantage over the Mules thanks to a 1-0 opening-day win. A tie in either game this week would guarantee a playoff berth. A seventh seeding would hardly be ideal, though, as Tufts would be forced to play either Bowdoin or Middlebury in the first round.

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Men's Soccer | First place Williams will pose difficulties for Jumbo squad

October 21

With a 4-5-2 overall record and a 3-3 league mark, crunch time arrives for the men's soccer team on Saturday in Williamstown, Mass., against the formidable Williams Ephs. The game will mark the first of the team's three final road matches - all against league opponents - that will decide Tufts' seeding in the postseason. "Williams is the best team so they are obviously the team to beat," junior forward Mattia Chason said. "But if we were to lose, it wouldn't affect us much because Wesleyan and Conn. are beatable. We don't have to win all the games because we're pretty much in the playoffs already. This is the biggest game, but has the least effect." The Jumbos will face a first place team that has systematically run over each and every one of its NESCAC opponents this season. Williams currently holds a 7-0 league record and an 11-1 overall mark. The Ephs' only loss this year came against Western New England College on Sept. 21 in a 3-2 battle, and they currently sit at seventh in the nation. Chason points to several key factors as to why Williams has been dominant over the years. "Their organization and the quality of the players make them so good," Chason said. "The coach is Italian too, so that helps." Williams has steamrolled through this season after a 2004 campaign in which it won the NESCAC, only to eventually fall in the Div. III National Tournament 1-0 in double overtime to SUNY-Geneseo. It was the fourth consecutive season in which a Williams team had won the NESCAC. The Ephs have a stranglehold on first place in the NESCAC and first place in the New England region, and will likely receive a first round bye and host the semifinals and finals of the conference playoffs. Eph junior forwards John Hillman and Patrick Huffer share the team lead for goals this season with six scores each. Huffer was named NESCAC Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 10 for tallying three goals in wins over Bates and Colby. Tufts, however, boasts its own powerful junior forward, with Chason garnering the NESCAC's most recent Player of the Week honors. Chason leads all Jumbos with seven goals in addition to his two assists. The Rome, Italy, native has recorded either a goal or an assist in each of the Jumbos' four victories this season. "To be honest, I didn't know I was player of the week until my teammates told me. I was really happy. I didn't expect to get this in my career at Tufts," Chason said. Tufts will enter tomorrow's matchup with several goals in mind: buckle down on defense and take advantage of any scoring opportunities Williams allows. "We are going to have to score on the few chances that we get up top," Chason said. "Focus number one is defense and focus number two will be putting away the few opportunities that we get." The Jumbos will have their work cut out for them in accomplishing these goals. The Williams offense, led by Hillman and Huffer, has scored 15 goals in the past five games while its defense has surrendered just one goal over that same span. The Eph defense has also let in a mere eight goals this season. Tufts will continue its final NESCAC run on Tuesday against Wesleyan. The Cardinals are tied with Amherst for fourth in the league at 3-2-1. A win over Wesleyan before heading to 1-6 Connecticut College next Saturday would undoubtedly help Tufts in the playoff standings. "We're shooting for being fourth in the league and a home field advantage in the first round," Chason said. "The fourth place team plays the fifth place team. Being on top of Wesleyan would give us an advantage against them in the playoffs. That game might determine the home field advantage." The Jumbos currently sit in the seventh position in the NESCAC behind Williams, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Amherst, Wesleyan and Bates. Colby, Conn. College and Trinity round out the NESCAC standings. With most league teams facing off against NESCAC opponents during the last week of the season, the playoff picture will likely be up in the air until next weekend.

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Men's Soccer | Dominant Jumbos frustrated with tie after hard game with UMass Dartmouth

October 19

The final score in soccer is not always indicative of what occurred on the field. In playing non-league UMass Dartmouth (UMD) to a 1-1 tie in double overtime on Tuesday, Tufts outshot the Corsairs 39-10, had a 14-2 edge in corner kicks, and played the majority of the game on UMD's side of the field. Despite the Jumbos' statistical domination, they were unable to come away with the win before beginning an all-important final three games against NESCAC foes. "We basically had a lack of concentration in front of the goal," senior tri-captain Todd Gilbert said. "We got ourselves in good positions many times and then were just unable to get a quality shot on frame. If we had put half of the shots that we had on target, we probably would have blown the team out." After a scoreless first half, UMD surprised the Jumbos by finding the back of the net first. A foul called on Tufts led to a 25-yard free kick from Corsair senior forward Tiago Pinto. His shot ricocheted off the post, was blocked by Tufts' freshman keeper Brian Dulmovits, but was then finished by UMD junior midfielder Seth Cabral. "Their goal was off a cheap foul," Gilbert said "[Pinto] made a really nice shot. Brian made a great save, but we lost a little bit of concentration in the back and let [Cabral] walk in to get the goal." In what could have been yet another late-game fall for the Jumbos, Tufts picked up the pace and began pummeling UMD keeper Kyle Fossey. The Jumbos maintained pressure on the opposing goal by pushing up in the back and generating consecutive corner kicks. "The last part of the second half we had the ball in their box the entire time," Gilbert said. "We had six corners in a row and were just all over them." Tufts' furious efforts to avoid its sixth loss of the season finally paid off with just under two minutes to play in regulation. Sophomore midfielder Greg O'Connell fired a shot from outside the box towards the upper right corner. In much the same way as UMD had scored twenty minutes earlier, the ball clanged off the post and then off the keeper for the rebound that sophomore forward Dan Jozwiak converted into a Tufts goal. "O'Connell beat his man coming across the top of the box and then his shot deflected off the goalie and off the post," Jozwiak said. "I just kind of cleaned up the garbage I guess." "The goal was really crucial because it came with just a few minutes left after we had completely dominated the team," Gilbert added. "It had been frustrating not to score. Greg had a great shot and Dan was there to tap it in." With the score knotted at one, the Jumbos headed into overtime with the momentum of finally finishing one of their shots. Junior forward Mattia Chason and senior tri-captain midfielder Mike Guigli both had solid scoring chances in the extra periods, but came away empty handed. But despite their continued domination of the Corsairs in the extra period, the golden goal eluded the Jumbos, sending the team back to Medford with a 1-1 tie and a 4-5-2 overall record. "During the last 25 minutes [of regulation] and both the overtime periods, we dominated the whole time," Jozwiak said. "Mattia had a chance, Guigli had a chance, everybody had chances. We just couldn't find the goal. Their goalie played nice and came up with a lot of big saves." Tufts now will focus its attention on the last three games of its season. These final three road matches versus NESCAC opponents will determine the Jumbos' seeding in the playoffs. Tufts will start this stint on Saturday against perennial NESCAC powerhouse Williams. "We're preparing as we usually do," Gilbert said of the team's strategy for this weekend. "For most of the season, our focus has been to get better with each game. But now the focus is totally on winning."

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Women's Soccer | Home sweet home: Jumbos win sixth straight at Kraft Field

October 16

For the Women's soccer team, all that mattered was the end result. Despite not playing up to their high standards, the Jumbos did what they needed to do to win Saturday, defeating ninth-place Trinity 3-2 in front of a crowd of raucous students, parents and alumni. The win pushes the Jumbos to 9-1 on the season (5-1 NESCAC), and drops the Bantams to 3-6-1 overall (1-5 NESCAC). Tufts' victory, coupled with a Williams loss to Middlebury, gives the Jumbos sole possession of first place in the league heading into tomorrow's non-conference bout with Keene State. "We didn't play as well as we wanted," coach Martha Whiting said. "We've played a whole lot better this year, and the girls know that. It was disappointing, but in the end, we got it done. Trinity did a better job of possessing the ball than we did, which was embarrassing because we know we're the better team." A big part of the Jumbos' sub-par play certainly can be attributed to the weather. Mother Nature was not kind to Tufts this Homecoming weekend, as severe and constant rainfall served as somewhat of an equalizer on the turf field. "The rain certainly had a bit of an impact because it wasn't just rain," Whiting said. "It was constant heavy downpour coming in sideways for 90 minutes. Part of what Trinity did was just knock the ball out of the back. A bouncing ball on the wet turf really skips and is tough to judge." The Jumbos came out of the gates looking less sharp than they had in previous games. They struggled in possessing the ball and transitioning from offense to defense, making for some sloppy play early on. Tufts got on the scoreboard first in the 26th minute. Senior tri-captain Lindsay Garmirian was fouled in the box on a breakaway and classmate Lydia Claudio took the kick, drilling the ball past Trinity keeper Tara Finucane for her first goal of the season. Claudio, who was hampered by an ankle sprain earlier in the season, played solidly all afternoon and showed no signs of lingering effects from the injury. Trinity tied the game just before halftime, when a shot from freshman Devin Nwanagu slipped through the hands of Tufts' junior keeper Annie Ross and into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1. "In the first half, we came out pretty slowly, which was frustrating for us because we knew we could play better," sophomore Joelle Emery said. "It was also upsetting because there were so many alums and fans there that we were letting down in a way. Not wanting to disappoint them really got us pumped up in the second half." The Jumbos did not disappoint, coming out with much more energy and focus in the second half. The defense remained patient and strong, while senior tri-captain Ariel Samuelson tallyed two goals in a span of five minutes to put the game away. Samuelson's first goal came in the 54th minute, when the senior took a cross from sophomore Jessie Wagner and knocked the ball past Finucane. Just five minutes later, with the Jumbos pressing the Bantam defense, junior Jen Fratto sent a long ball into the box. Samuelson took control with her back to the goal, spun around her defender and deftly drilled the ball past the keeper into the open net for what ended up being the game-winning goal. It was Samuelson's NESCAC-leading 10th goal and 22nd point of the season, giving her the highest goal total by a Jumbo since 2000. "I don't know what's gotten into her," Whiting said. "Part of it is that it's her senior year so there's a sense of urgency. Also, last year she was just getting used to playing forward again, but this year it's like second nature to her." Whiting said Samuelson's competitive nature has been a huge part of her dominance on the field this season. "She can take bringing the equipment out to the field and make it into a competition," Whiting said, "Her competitive nature drives her to be the best. Everyone has also been very impressed at how composed she is. It's just mind-boggling this year." Tufts got a little complacent after Samuelson's second goal, letting down its intensity and allowing Nwanagu to slip a shot from the right flank just barely over Ross' outstretched arms to put Trinity within a goal in the 78th minute. "I don't think we necessarily let down, but I think we thought we had already won," freshman Genevieve Citrin said. "After they scored, we got a little panicked and flustered, but I don't think there was ever a doubt in anyone's mind that we wouldn't come out on top." The Jumbos were able to secure a victory in front of several former players. The alumni in attendance gave the players extra incentive to show off the growth of the program. "It was so much fun," Whiting said. "The roar of the crowd when we scored really took me by surprise; it was much louder than at any normal Saturday game. It was really cool.

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Women's Soccer | Jumbos secure spot in record books with ninth straight win, still untarnished at home

October 16

With Saturday's win over Trinity, the women's soccer team etched its place in the Tufts record books. The ninth straight win kept the team's home record untarnished at 6-0. After an opening day loss on the road to Colby, the Jumbos have been unstoppable, outscoring opponents 23-7 and recording four shutouts in the process. "It's pretty exciting that we were able to get the win yesterday to break the record, but it really wasn't on any of our minds going into the game," sophomore defender Joelle Emery said. "I think that we've gotten to the point where we are just taking each game at a time, and if that allows us to break a record, it's even better." The win broke a 25-year-old record, set by the 1979 Jumbo squad. A big part of the Jumbos' success over the past month has been its extremely deep bench. Early in the season, junior Jen Fratto, sophomore Lauren Fedore and senior Lydia Claudio were forced to the sidelines by injuries, opening the door for six new players to step in and fill their roles. The six quickly learned the ways of Tufts soccer, and since the three injured starters have returned to the lineup, coach Martha Whiting has been able to substitute freely without worrying about a drop in play. "We're so used to it now, I think we're almost spoiled," Whiting said. "Right from the beginning, the younger kids were able to step up. At the beginning of the season, we had to give a lot of thought as to what we were going to do to fill the roles, but since then we haven't had to. We've come to expect it now, that anyone that goes in works hard to be just as good as the person they go in for." Whiting stressed the sense of team that has propelled the squad to nine straight victories. "One of the great things about this team is that there is no weird hierarchy," she said. "Once you're part of the team you're part of it, and it's almost become hard to differentiate between classes because there is no individual that's bigger than the team."

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Men's Soccer | Jumbos find the net after second half woes

October 16

After watching a 1-0 halftime lead turn into a 2-1 second-half deficit, it looked like more of the same for the Men's soccer team in Saturday's Homecoming game against Trinity. But behind junior striker Mattia Chason, Tufts was able to rally to a 3-2 overtime victory in the pouring rain on Bello Field. The Homecoming win was the first for the team's seniors. "[To win at home on Homecoming] was most important for our seniors," junior tri-captain Jon Glass said. "This is the last time our seniors played at home, and they hadn't won a Homecoming game in their years, and we really pulled it together for them." The Jumbos dominated the game in the opening minutes, getting on the scoreboard only two minutes into the contest. It was senior tri-captain Mike Guigli who set the table, finding sophomore midfielder Greg O'Connell, who headed in his third goal of the season to put Tufts up 1-0. While Tufts controlled the play early, the action evened out later in the first half, and the Jumbos had to settle for a one-goal lead heading into the break. As has been the story many times this season, the Jumbos' opponents came out hungry after halftime. In the 55th minute, Trinity freshman Matt Miller beat freshman goalkeeper Brian Dulmovits (six saves) to even the score at one. The Bantams refused to settle, however, and went up 2-1 in the 68th minute when sophomore forward Charlie Fuentes found senior Jeff Hodge for the goal. Just when it appeared that the Jumbos were about to suffer their third loss in four games, Chason knocked in an equalizing goal three minutes later. After sophomore defender Derek Engelking headed a ball beyond two Bantam defenders, Chason found himself facing only Trinity freshman goalkeeper Zac Trudeau and capitalized to even the score once again in the 71st minute. Neither team was able to find a go-ahead tally in the final 20 minutes of regulation, and so the stage was set for overtime. The extra period lasted less than a minute, however, as Chason took a cross from Guigli and found the goal for the game-winner. Unlike other times this season when the team faced adversity in the second half, Tufts was able to fight back and not only tie the game, but find a golden goal to win in overtime. "It was great [to make a comeback in the second half]," Glass said. "We did the same thing at Plymouth State [last Wednesday], and I think we fed off that momentum and realized we really could dig down deep and out-heart people in the second half. We started out flat, but we had some key players step it up for us." Chason's two tallies marked his third multi-goal game of the season, giving him a team-leading seven goals and 16 points. Guigli's two assists were his second and third of the season, and he sits behind Chason with nine points. This game also continued a pattern that reflects Chason's importance to the team's success. The junior has contributed either an assist or a goal in all of Tufts' wins and ties. "I don't think it's a coincidence at all," Glass said. "He's very poised and consistent up top. When he gets the ball, he knows what to do with it. He makes some good runs and the ball always finds his foot and gets into the net." Tufts moves to 4-5-1 with the win and brings its record in the NESCAC back to .500 at 3-3. The loss sends Trinity to 3-7 overall, and keeps them winless in the conference at 0-7. "Trinity is the bottom of the conference, and they weren't even a bad team," Glass said. "It just shows how good the conference really is. Every game is going to be hard-fought in the NESCAC." The Jumbos now sit at seventh place in the league, but are within striking distance of Amherst, Wesleyan and Bates. The team's Oct. 25 showdown at Wesleyan will help determine the Jumbos' postseason seeding, although the team has yet to officially secure a spot in the seven-team field. Next on the radar for Tufts is a trip to UMass-Dartmouth on Tuesday afternoon, in what will be the team's final non-conference game of the season and the first game of a four-game road trip to close out the fall campaign. The contest with the Corsairs will serve as a good tune-up for the team's crucial final three NESCAC showdowns. "I think it's the same exact strategy [whether it's a conference or a non-conference game]," Glass said. "We need all the confidence and all the momentum we can get, so we approach every game like it's our last."

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Women's Soccer | Now sixth in the nation, Tufts ready to do battle against Trinity on a turf field

October 13

The women's soccer team has a program record-tying eight straight victories and doesn't look ready to stop quite yet. With their Homecoming game on Saturday against Trinity on the Bello Field turf at 1:30, the Jumbos will be vying for a school record ninth consecutive win. Is the team feeling the pressure? "Honestly, we really aren't thinking about it," coach Martha Whiting said. "We know that it's there, but we know it won't do any good to dwell on it. We've been really good at taking it one game at a time." Senior tri-captain Sarah Callaghan agreed. "We want to play well every game no matter what, so if there is pressure, we put it on ourselves," she said. "Even if we had lost the last eight games, I would want to win the next one." Heavy rain postponed Tuesday's match against Wesleyan. Instead of playing, the team had an intense practice in the driving rain to try to match the game experience. "The girls were excited to play on Tuesday, so it was disappointing when we didn't play," Whiting said. "We went really hard at practice to use that energy and excitement we had from expecting to play a game." The postponement may have been a blessing in disguise, because had the team played on Tuesday, it would have been without Callaghan. The break gave the forward a few more days to heal her sprained knee, though her availability for Saturday is still up in the air. The extra practice time allowed the Jumbos to work on areas that needed improvement. "We spent a lot of time working on transitioning this past week," sophomore Martha Furtek said. "Hustling back to defend or attacking quickly on offense is something that we have struggled with throughout the season, but we are improving and working more as a unit." Furtek mentioned the importance of adapting to playing on turf. "First touch on the turf, especially if it's raining, is crucial," she said. "We proved last Saturday that we can play on turf and I don't think we should have any problem doing the same against Trinity." The Bantams are coming into Tufts looking for any sign of life. At 1-4 in the NESCAC, they are doing all they can to stay out of last place in the conference. The slippery weather, however, may be a small equalizer. "I think the weather will have an effect to a small degree," Whiting said. "But it is a good thing that we are playing on turf, because the weather would have a much larger impact if we were playing on Kraft. Our main strengths are team speed and our ability to possess the ball, and playing on wet grass would greatly diminish our advantage." This week, the Jumbos moved up one spot in the national rankings to sixth, while remaining No. 1 in New England. While the team tries to focus on the field, the recognition is difficult to ignore. "It's exciting to be recognized, but I've been trying my hardest not to pay attention to the rankings," Furtek said. "It's easy to start thinking about postseason possibilities, but, like [coach] reminded us yesterday, we haven't officially made it into the tournament yet." Tufts will have plenty of other reasons to get excited Saturday. With both Parents Weekend and Homecoming, there will be a large crowd of parents and alumni watching the game. "Playing in front of a home crowd has really picked us up this season and we're really excited to see all of the girls who have graduated," Furtek said. "Our goal has been to play consistently for 90 minutes, and the homecoming crowd hopefully will motivate us to do that." Callaghan agreed. "The festivities just add to the atmosphere of the game," she said. "It is always fun to play in front of old teammates. Also, parents will be coming out to watch, which is nice for people who live farther away." The defense has given up one goal in its last four games, thanks to the back four and goalkeeper Annie Ross. By posting two shutouts last week, Ross became the second Tufts player this season to be named NESCAC Player of the Week. "The defense has really come together," Whiting said. "They are four great players and when they play as one, they become even better. Annie has also taken a leadership role and communicates really well, so she and the back four compliment each other really well." The team wants to perform up to standards of their few games. If it does, all signs point to yet another Tufts victory.

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Men's Soccer | Soccer team is hungry after three straight losses

October 13

The men's soccer team planted what it wants to be the seeds of season-ending success with a 1-1 tie at Plymouth State (8-1-2, ranked No. 8 in New England) on Wednesday night. While most of the time only a win is acceptable in a non-conference game, the tie marked only the third game of the season for Plymouth not to go in the win column. For Tufts (3-5-1), this was a much-needed confidence builder. "We played really well against them," sophomore Dan Jozwiak said. "We got a lot of good chances and worked hard as a team. It was a big step for us especially coming off of the Bowdoin loss. We got right back into the swing of things." After being victimized by second-half comebacks multiple times, it was the Jumbos' turn to stage a comeback of their own. As it has for much of the season, the team turned to junior striker Mattia Chason for the spark. Down 1-0 in the 76th minute, Chason was able to volley the ball in mid-air, beating Plymouth State freshman goalkeeper Tyler Shute for the equalizer. The goal marked the junior's team-leading fifth tally of the season, all of which have come during Tufts victories. With little time remaining in regulation, neither team was able to find an opportunity for a winning goal, setting the stage for 20 minutes of sudden death overtime. Neither team could muster a golden goal, and the game ended in stalemate after 110 minutes. Plymouth State got on the board in the first half by way of a loose ball header by senior midfielder Brad Wyman that beat Jumbo freshman goalkeeper Brian Dulmovits in the 19th minute. Despite the early goal, it was saves by Dulmovits that kept Tufts within one goal on multiple occasions. His most important save probably came before halftime, as he dove to stop a shot by Panther senior tri-captain Chris Catatao. Tufts was not without chances of its own. Junior striker Ben Castellot almost found the back of the net with a tricky header in the fifth minute, but Plymouth State junior defender Brian Biederman stopped the ball on the goal line. Shots by Jozwiak and senior tri-captain Todd Gilbert were stopped by Shute in the second half before Chason was finally able to even the score. The tie at Plymouth State came on the heels of a 4-0 home loss to fifth-ranked Bowdoin last Saturday. The question is: which is a more accurate indicator of the team's ability against quality opponents, Saturday or Wednesday? The answer will be proved down the stretch, when the team plays second-ranked Williams next Saturday. Trinity comes to Tufts for this Saturday's Homecoming NESCAC showdown holding a sub-par 3-6 record. Although the Bantams are winless in NESCAC play, they are currently on a two-game winning streak and are playing as if they have something to prove in the conference. The Jumbos, playing in front of several of their former teammates, will be eager to demonstrate their potential. "Playing in front of everybody certainly adds to the whole excitement of everything, and will be an extra motivator," Jozwiak said. The Jumbos will look to neutralize Bantam sophomore forward Charlie Fuentes, who has scored a goal in the last two games and leads Trinity in scoring. The Trinity matchup is the last home game of the Jumbo's regular season schedule. The game will be the team's last and best opportunity to secure momentum to take into the stretch. "It has been pretty much business-as-usual this week," Jozwiak said. "Everyone has their mind on the weekend, and we're really looking for it to be a turning point in the season." The Jumbos will be on the turf field for the matchup, as Kraft Field is unfit for play because of this week's heavy rain. Jozwiak does not think the new location will be a decisive factor in the game. "It makes the whole speed of play a lot faster," he said, "but other than that there's not much of a difference. We're just going to go out there and take care of business."

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Women's Soccer | Jumbos plow through Polar Bears

October 10

The seventh-ranked women's soccer team tied a 26-year-old school record on Saturday afternoon, defeating 20th-ranked Bowdoin 3-0 amidst heavy rain on Bello Field. Junior goalie Annie Ross was named NESCAC Player of the Week yesterday after posting back-to-back shutouts against Brandeis last week and Bowdoin on Saturday. Ross was remarkable between the posts all afternoon, making ten saves in her fourth shutout of the season, and her second against conference opponents. "The ball was really slippery and tough to handle, especially for the keepers," freshman Maya Shoham said. "But Annie really minimized their second chances by handling it cleanly." The win moves the Jumbos to 4-1 in the NESCAC, half a game behind Williams at second place in the conference. Due to the inclement weather conditions, the Jumbos were forced to play on the turf field, home to the field hockey team, rather than its own Kraft Field. Playing on the turf was an adjustment at first, but turned out to play to Tufts' advantage. "We were all nervous to play on the turf, but we adjusted fine," senior tri-captain Ariel Samuelson said. "On a rainy day it's hard to play on a gross field and often times, the worse team gets an advantage because it levels the playing ground, but on the turf the better team usually has the advantage because there are fewer mess-ups." The Jumbos came out strong to open the game, dominating the Polar Bears on both sides of the field. Tufts got on the scoreboard immediately, when Samuelson sent a perfect through-ball to classmate and fellow tri-captain Lindsay Garmirian. The senior broke away from the defenders and ripped a shot past Bowdoin senior keeper Anna Shapell to give Tufts a 1-0 lead just four minutes into the game. The Jumbos continued to play strong throughout the half, with the defense keeping Bowdoin's attack at bay and the offense applying constant pressure on Shapell and her back four. Defense was particularly tricky on the turf because the slippery ball had a tendency to skip, but the Jumbo defenders and Ross were able to keep control and prevent any Bowdoin scores. "The ball skipped a lot so it was great that the defense was able to limit [Bowdoin's] shots and really shut down their good strikers," Samuelson said. Tufts tallied its second goal of the half with just two minutes to play when sophomore Lauren Fedore gained control 40 yards away from the net. She dribbled the ball down field and drilled a shot from 25 yards out that appeared to be sailing over the cage. At the last second, however, it dipped underneath the post and into the back of the net to put Tufts up by a deuce. The Jumbos let down slightly in the second frame, but responded well to the increased Bowdoin pressure and kept them off the scoreboard. Tufts' final goal came when sophomore Martha Furtek sent a cross into the box and Samuelson flicked a header at the far post to put the Jumbos up 3-0. The goal was Samuelson's eighth of the season, putting her atop the conference in both scoring and total points (18). The Jumbos earned the decisive victory without senior tri-captain Sarah Callaghan, who was nursing a sprained LCL but hopes to return on homecoming Saturday for Tufts' matchup with Trinity. "Losing [Callaghan] was huge because she works so hard up top, checking to the ball and transitioning quickly back on defense," Garmirian said. "It's almost like having another center mid as well as a forward. This victory was key because it showed our depth, shifting players around to get the win." Fedore moved up to forward in Callaghan's place, with junior Kim Harrington getting the nod at outside mid in place of Fedore. The Jumbos have little time to rest after Saturday's big victory, as they are back in action today against the Wesleyan Cardinals in Middletown, Conn. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m.

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Men's Soccer | Waterlogged team slips to 3-5

October 10

With the unrelenting rain soaking a slippery Kraft Field, the men's soccer team never found its footing in a 4-0 loss to the Bowdoin Polar Bears on Saturday. With the NESCAC loss, Tufts fell to 3-5 on the year and 2-3 in league action. "It's very disappointing," junior tri-captain Jon Glass said. "These kinds of games are weird because the weather does play a factor, but it's the same for both teams. Our skill was up there with them, it just seemed like the ball was not gliding our way with the rain." Despite the returns from injury of Glass and sophomore midfielder Greg O'Connell, the Jumbos faced a driving Bowdoin offense that rivaled the driving precipitation Mother Nature sent to Medford. Tufts held tight for the first ten minutes, but began to allow Bowdoin more quality looks at the goal after Glass left the game with a head injury in the tenth minute. "My ankle felt fine, that's the good news," Glass said. "Then of course with my luck I got knocked in the face and had to come out." Glass would remain side-lined for the duration of the first half after receiving six stitches in his forehead. He resumed his position in the back four after halftime, when the Jumbos were down 3-0. The Polar Bears failed to capitalize on their first legitimate opportunity of the day when senior tri-captain Mike Guigli, perfectly-positioned, headed the ball out of the goal after a Bowdoin corner kick. The Bears, however, would not remain scoreless for long. Bowdoin found the back of the net for the first of its three first half goals in the 18th minute. Junior midfielder John Hollis received the ball from classmate Simon Parsons amidst the chaos in front of the Tufts goal. Hollis left his feet with a driving shot past freshman goalkeeper Brain Dulmovits to put Bowdoin up 1-0. The Polar Bears shocked the Jumbos by adding their second goal just three minutes later. Sophomore midfielder Nick Figueiredo skillfully dribbled through the Tufts defense and the standing water on the field. He then punished the ball into the low corner of the net past a charging Dulmovits. Tufts held strong in the middle for the subsequent 15 minutes, but relinquished its third goal of the day with just under ten minutes to play in the half. Sophomore midfielder Mike Howard took a shot on net, but Dulmolvits batted it away. Hollis charged in on the rebound to finish the goal. Sophomore forward Dan Jozwiak had Tufts' best opportunity of the day just minutes after the third Bowdoin goal. After muscling through several Bowdoin defenders, Jozwiak found himself in the open with only Bowdoin sophomore keeper Nathan Lovitz between the ball and a 3-1 score. Jozwiak lined a shot to Lovitz's left, but the agile keeper sprawled in front stifling the Tufts chance. Tufts' chances on net were few and far between for the rest of the match. Glass cites this lack of offensive production as a key point on which the Jumbos need to improve. "Most of our goals have come from the midfield," Glass said. "We need to get the forwards more involved; get them the ball and get them moving. We need to be keeping high pressure and urgency up in the box." Being down 3-0 at halftime was a scenario the Jumbos had yet to see this season. The team had held its previous opponents scoreless in the first half through seven games. Coming out in the second half, Tufts looked more tenacious, but still could not find that elusive first goal that might have changed the momentum in its favor. Conditions continued to worsen as the rain kept falling making ball control difficult and dribbling nearly impossible on some areas of the pitch. Both teams struggled to stay on their feet and generate plays. "There's nothing you can do but try to keep it off the wet surface and in the air. The ball is a lot faster," Glass said. "Also when I came back it seemed like the intensity was just not there." Bowdoin tallied a final goal in the 63rd minute. Sophomore forward Wolf Grueber took a pass from Parsons to send the ball past Dulmolvits and reach the final 4-0 score. Tufts will face Plymouth State College on the road tomorrow. The Jumbos will use this non-league match-up as a chance to get back on their feet in preparation for their final home game set for this Saturday against NESCAC rival Trinity.

Soccer

Men's Soccer | After freezing Polar Bears last year, Tufts looks for more of the same

October 6

The Men's soccer team had a chance to regroup this week in preparation for tomorrow's NESCAC match against the visiting Bowdoin Polar Bears. After a 2-1 loss to Bates on the road last Saturday, the squad used the absence of a mid-week game to work on tactical aspects of its game and get some much-needed rest. "We worked on some team shape - where we are supposed to be on the field offensively and defensively," senior tri-captain Mike Guigli said. "We also worked on some runs our forwards need to be making and we had a day off on Tuesday." Tufts will enter the game with a 3-4 overall record and even at 2-2 in league play. The Polar Bears are 6-2 overall, with both of their losses coming against NESCAC foes. Bowdoin fell 2-1 to Williams and was shut out by a dominant Middlebury team, 3-0. Both Tufts and Bowdoin have notched wins against Amherst and Colby, but the Bears have the advantage over the Jumbos in the league with their opening-day victory against Bates. The Jumbos, who relinquished a 1-0 lead midway through the second half of last Saturday's game against Bobcats, will again look to overcome the late-game demons that have plagued the team in each of its four losses this year. Tufts is 3-0 when it holds its opponents scoreless in the second half, and 0-4 when it gives up second half goals. "Saturday we just came out really slow," Guigli said. "The intensity was really low throughout the game, it was almost inevitable that [the goals were] going to come in the second half. Before the Bates game we were doing well and showed we are able to solve that second half problem. We just need to keep our focus for the full 90 minutes." The Jumbos have also used this week off to rehab several key injuries. Sophomore midfielder Greg O'Connell and junior tri-captain defender Jon Glass have been out of action recently. While O'Connell will be back in uniform against Bowdoin, Glass is still a question mark on the defensive side. "O'Connell will be ready for Saturday," Guigli said. "Glass has been running and practicing with us, but it's not looking like he's going to be ready at this point." Leading the Polar Bear attack will be junior forward Simon Parsons and sophomore midfielder Nick Figueiredo. Parsons leads his team with five goals and two assists this year, while Figueiredo is second on the team with four goals and two assists. One statistic that could pose problems for the Jumbos lies in the fact that Bowdoin has scored 11 of its 18 regular-season goals after halftime. Last year, Tufts traveled to Bowdoin to face the Bears on the road. In what turned out to be a highlight of the season, the Jumbos overcame the home team in overtime, beating the Polar Bears with a 3-2 win that snapped a two-season losing streak and helped Tufts advance to the NESCAC playoffs. "It was a really big win for us beating them at their home field last year," Guigli said. "It was probably one of our best games last season. We came out really strong, stayed composed, and played the way we know how to play." Tomorrow's match will be the second-to-last time the Jumbos will play at home this heavy season. With a bevy of home games early on, Tufts will play its final game at Kraft Field next weekend against Trinity before packing its bags for the remainder of the season. "It's not a great schedule, but if we beat Bowdoin, we will be in really great shape," Guigli said. "Our second half is probably lighter than the first half, but every game is still going to be a challenge," With the latter half of the season ahead of them, the Jumbos can't help but begin to think about the NESCAC playoffs, especially going into two consecutive league matches. "The playoffs are always in the back of our minds coming in to the second half of the season," Guigli said. "We're thinking about it and hopefully we can get a home game in the first round. That is definitely possible if we win on Saturday."

Soccer

Women's Soccer | Jumbos will defend top ranking and seven-game win streak this weekend

October 6

The Women's soccer team will bring impressive numbers to Kraft Field on Saturday: a seven-game win streak, No. 1 in New England, No. 7 nationally and zero home losses. In one of their biggest games of the season to date, the Jumbos will face off against the Bowdoin Polar Bears at 2:30 p.m. Currently tied atop the NESCAC standings with Williams at 7-1 overall (3-1 NESCAC), Tufts is a mere half-game ahead of the Polar Bears (3-2 NESCAC). While Tufts has knocked off the Bears in three of the past four seasons, but every game has been tightly contested, with neither team winning by more than one goal. "We have to beat Bowdoin," senior tri-captain Sarah Callaghan said. "They're always a tough team, and every game we've played against them has been very close, and I don't expect tomorrow to be any different." While the Jumbos boast a red-hot winning streak and a top national ranking, the Bears are no strangers to ousting nationally-ranked opponents. Just two weeks ago, Bowdoin hosted Williams, then ranked ninth, and demolished the Ephs 3-0 to knock them out of the top 25. Tufts, coming off a Wednesday 2-0 victory over Brandeis, will be up for the challenge. The Jumbos are going up against a Polar Bear defense that has recorded four shutouts this season and has allowed just nine goals in nine games. The anchor of that defense is senior tri-captain goalie Anna Shapell, who has accumulated a .875 save percentage and averaged only 0.96 goals allowed per game so far this season. The Jumbo offense will be led, as usual, by senior tri-captains Ariel Samuelson and Sarah Callaghan, who lead the NESCAC in goals scored (seven) and assists (six), respectively. After struggling offensively on Wednesday, scoring only one goal until the closing seconds, the squad knows it will have to be sharper to overcome the Polar Bears. "We really just have to put away our chances," Callaghan said. "We created lots of opportunities against Brandeis, but didn't put enough of them in. We're not going to have so many chances against Bowdoin, so we have to take advantage of the ones we get and finish." The Jumbos will need another big game in the middle from center midfielder sophomore Martha Furtek, who has been omnipresent on the field all season long. "She has been amazing since she got here last year," senior tri-captain Lindsay Garmirian said. "She never stops running; she's like two people." The squad will look to continue its strong defensive play and shut down Bowdoin leading scorers Ann Zeigler (five goals, three assists) and Ivy Blackmore (three goals, one assist). While Bowdoin does not have the offensive prowess of Bates, which Tufts defeated last weekend, its potential firepower is a concern.The team knows it will need to come out fired up and ready to play Saturday in order to come away with the all-important W. "I think that in the past few games, our fundamentals have been really good, but we've just haven't come out with the intensity we had at the beginning of the season," sophomore Joelle Emery said. "I think that the most important thing for us on Saturday is to come out hungry and fired up." Emery, junior Jen Fratto, and sophomores Annie Benedict and Jess Wagner have been crucial to the Jumbos' seven-game winning streak, but the play of junior keeper Annie Ross has allowed them to play more aggressively and keep the pressure on opposing defenses. Ross plays way out of the box when the Jumbos are on offense, cutting off any potential breakaways by the opposing team. "Annie's been having a great season, which is great since it's been her first opportunity to prove herself to everyone," Emery said. "Having confidence in your keeper is so important. It not only allows us to play tough, aggressive defense because we know she'll be there if they get a shot off, but also it allows us to push up and play offense, which is huge." A win for the Jumbos would push them to 4-1 in the conference and extend their winning streak to eight straight games, tying the 1979 school record.

Soccer

Men's Soccer | Tufts coughs up another second-half lead in loss to Bates

October 2

After consecutive shutout wins, it appeared that the men's soccer team had finally overcome its problem of surrendering second-half leads. Unfortunately, after opening the scoring in the second half on Saturday, Tufts (3-4, 2-2 NESCAC) gave up two quick goals to find itself on the wrong end of a 2-1 score on Saturday at Bates (5-1-1, 3-1-1). "[Giving up second half goals] has been a mystery for us most of the season," said sophomore defender Andrew Drucker. "All season we've been saying we need to keep a mental focus for the full 90. I think it's just a matter of staying focused for the entire time and not getting mentally frustrated or flustered. You just have to keep playing." The Jumbos got on the board early in the second half, as senior tri-captain Mike Guigli dribbled through the midfield into the Bates defensive zone and fired a shot past multiple players, including sophomore keeper Aaron Schleicher, and inside the left post for the goal. Bates leveled the score at one goal apiece in the sixty-fourth minute of the match, as senior Terence O'Connell, last week's NESCAC Player of the Week, found the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season, a team and conference best. Bates Junior midfielder Ithai Schori served a perfect corner kick to assist on the tally, setting up O'Connell to head the ball past Jumbo freshman goalkeeper Brian Dulmovits, who recorded two saves in the loss. As other teams have against the Jumbos this season, Bates struck while the iron was hot to score what would prove to be the game-winning goal. In a goal eerily similar to one scored by Salve Regina off a kickoff in its win over Tufts two weeks ago, Bates sophomore striker Brent Morin took advantage of the element of surprise to break the tie just over two minutes after O'Connell's equalizer. Morin hammered a first-touch shot from about 40 yards out, beating Dulmovits in the top-shelf, as the ball sailed underneath the crossbar for the goal. For the second time this season, Tufts went from enjoying a one-goal advantage to tasting defeat, falling back under .500 in a matter of minutes. "In the last couple of wins, we came out really hard and really put together a solid 90 minutes," Drucker said. "I don't feel like we played as well yesterday." Junior tri-captain Jon Glass echoed his teammate's sentiments. "For some reason things were not coming together for us. We weren't working up our attacks like we normally do. We weren't showing much composure offensively," Glass said. Tufts sophomore striker Dan Jozwiak picked up an assist on the team's only score. He now has five points on the season, third-best on the team. Guigli's goal, his third of the season, gave him seven points this fall. Both marks are second best on the team, behind junior striker Mattia Chason, who was held without a goal for the first time in almost two weeks. Chason's disappearance from the score sheet is a telling statistic. In Tufts' three wins this season, he has registered either a goal or an assist. In the Jumbos' four defeats, however, Chason has been absent from the box score. Credit is due to Schleicher and the rest of the Bates defense for silencing Chason and the Tufts attack for the vast majority of the game. Aside from the Bobcats' goal-scorers, Schleicher was the star of the day in Lewiston, protecting the Bates win with seven saves. For the first time this season, Tufts does not have a mid-week game. The rest will give the team a chance to nurse some early-season bumps and bruises. The Jumbos will certainly benefit as Glass and sophomore midfielder Greg O'Connell can return to full strength for Saturday's match-up. "I'm doing real well. It was a bad ankle sprain. They originally thought I had torn ligaments. According to the trainers and doctors, the progress has been beyond what they expected," Glass said. "I started running on Friday, and I'm going to try to come back to practice Tuesday or Wednesday, so hopefully I can be out on the field on Saturday." "It's good [to not have a mid-week game] because we have a couple of key guys injured," Drucker said. "It will be good to give them some time to rest, and we'll just get ready for Bowdoin on Saturday." Tufts will play Bowdoin on Saturday afternoon, in what will be the team's second-to-last home game after an early-season schedule heavy on Kraft Field. After the contest with the Polar Bears, five of the Jumbos' final six games will be played in enemy territory, including three of four NESCAC battles. Bowdoin will be fresh from a week off and in search of a win after a 3-0 loss to Middlebury on Sunday.

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Men's Soccer | Waterlogged team slips to 3-5

Men's Soccer | After freezing Polar Bears last year, Tufts looks for more of the same

Women's Soccer | Jumbos will defend top ranking and seven-game win streak this weekend

Men's Soccer | Tufts coughs up another second-half lead in loss to Bates

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