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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

No. 3 men's soccer atop NESCAC after trio of victories

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Tufts junior midfielder Zach Lane dribbles past a defender during game against Bates on September 15th, 2018.

At a perfect 5–0 in the season after only two weeks, the Jumbos moved to No. 3 in the nation and are one of only two NESCAC teams in the Top 25, the other being the Conn. College Camels, who sit at No. 21. While the Jumbos conceded their first goal of the season in a non-conference matchup against the Wheaton Lyons on Sunday, they were able to go 2–0 in the NESCAC after beating the Bates Bobcats 1–0 at home in overtime the day before. Earlier in the week on Tuesday, Tufts eased to a 3–0 win over visiting Keene State.

In its second game of the first doubleheader weekend of the season, Tufts' two first-half goals were just enough to clinch its fifth win of the season on Sunday. The matchup showcased a standard Tufts performance: The team played in its usual 4-1-4-1 formation and enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half. After taking five shots in the first 17 minutes to no avail, the sixth, a header by first-year defender Ian Daly floated into the net to give the Jumbos a 1–0 lead, with junior midfielder Brett Rojas providing the assist off a corner kick.

The Jumbos have been dangerous from corner set pieces so far this season, having already scored at least three goals this way, compared to one goal all of last season.

“Being effective and dangerous in the attack on set pieces has been a big emphasis because we took something like 150 corners last season and scored on one of them, and we already have three off of 20 this season," coach Josh Shapiro said. "We felt it was an area that we absolutely needed to improve in. It’s an area that we felt like we could control, and we should be more effective and at least dangerous, maybe every one in eight. So that was a point of emphasis."

A little over twenty minutes later, sophomore forward Max Jacobs found the net for his third goal of the season, a mark that has him tied for the lead in the NESCAC. No player on the team scored more than five goals during the entire 2017 season, reflecting the potency of the Jumbos’ attack this year.

Sunday's game also marked the first goal that the Jumbos have conceded this season. In the 73rd minute, Wheaton senior midfielder and co-captain Curran Wait intercepted a pass and immediately played a long ball over the top of the Tufts defense. Wait’s pass was served on a plate for junior forward Shawn McCall, who flicked a header over senior goalkeeper and co-captain Conner Mieth. The goal highlighted the Jumbos' failure to drop their defensive line back in time to handle the transition play. Ultimately, though, Tufts still came away with the win thanks to the two first half goals.

The day before, Bates' stingy defense frustrated Tufts for 90 minutes of regular time. Despite dominating possession and keeping the ball well clear of their defensive third of the field, the Jumbos struggled to find the net with their 18 regular-time shots. More than once, Bates defenders had to clear the ball off of the goal line after junior goalkeeper Robbie Montanaro had already made the initial save.

Just five minutes of overtime elapsed before Tufts senior defender and co-captain Sterling Weatherbie finally scored off a corner kick, and chaos ensued in the box. The team rushed the field as the sudden-death goal brought the game to an end and gave the Jumbos their second conference shutout win.

Shapiro expressed frustration regarding the team's scoring drought during regular time.

“Yes [it annoyed me]," Shapiro said. "I think the guys recognized that there were opportunities in the game, and we could have been up two- or three-nothing in the first half. We have to start becoming more cold-blooded with our finishing. We’re making our own problems. [Against Wheaton] we had wonderful chances to [score] three or four and have a less stressful afternoon, but instead they score one goal and now its a nervy final 15 minutes, which is something that we felt we should have handled better."

Scoring wasn’t an issue against Keene State on Sept. 11. It took just over four minutes for junior midfielder/forward Gavin Tasker to send a through ball to Jacobs from the left wing. Jacobs fired a low shot with his weaker left foot that the goalie dove for, and got a piece of, but ultimately was unable to turn away as the ball rolled into the net. Jacobs made a sharp cut toward the wing to get behind his defender, which gave him enough space for his shot to make it 1–0.

In the 24th minute, junior forward Joe Braun kicked the ball into the net from close range after it was sent in via a corner by sophomore midfielder Travis Van Brewer. The high corner bounced around the box before Braun pounced for his first goal of the season. The victory was all but assured 10 minutes later, when Van Brewer’s corner flew to the far post, where it found unmarked first-year defender William Raphael, who timed his jump to perfection and powered the ball into the top corner of the goal with his head. It was the Andover, Mass. native's first collegiate goal.

Of the six goals scored in these three games, three of them were put away by defenders.

“Coach Shapiro has been emphasizing attacking through the back and playing on the counterattack," Daly said. "So the team definitely encourages defenders to take the ball up into the attack. I know that if I go up, someone will stand back for me, which really demonstrates the relationship that we all have. I have confidence in my wingers and defenders to cover for me if I go up and it allows us all to take more risks in the final third."

The three games highlighted clear strengths in Tufts' play, as well as some weaknesses that the team will undoubtedly look to shed in the weeks to come.

The team will travel to Brandeis (3–3) on Friday night, before hosting NESCAC opponent Wesleyan (2–2) on Sept. 26.