The soccer team's dream of winning the NESCAC Tournament came to a painful end on Saturday in a 1-0 loss to the Middlebury Panthers at Williamstown, MA. A victory would have meant a bout with the Williams Ephmen in the finals, with a chance for the Jumbos to avenge a 4-1 loss earlier in the season.
A lone Middlebury goal by Connor Shapiro at the 62-minute mark proved the game-winner.
With the win, the Panthers moved on to the showdown with Williams, which advanced easily to the final round with a 3-0 victory over Bowdoin. Yesterday, the Ephs topped the Panthers, 5-1, giving them a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
There are four at-large bids to the national tournament, at least one of which a NESCAC team could pick up. While it will not be announced until late Sunday night, the loss to Middlebury likely puts Tufts out of the running. Last year, the women's team qualified on an at-large bid and advanced all the way to the finals of the NCAA tournament.
"If we had won that game we probably would have gone," tri-captain Brad Stitchberry said. "Even though our record is competitive, we don't think we will make it. It was very disappointing for the whole team because it was the closest we have ever come. We were essentially one or two goals away from going to NCAAs."
Sporting an 11-4-1 record on the year and a 6-4 mark in the NESCAC (including the postseason), Tufts battled its way to a third place finish during the regular season. However, with four NESCAC losses, two to Middlebury and one apiece to Bates and Williams, it would appear the Jumbos are out of NCAA contention. Middlebury, on the other hand, could pick up the at-large bid, although its 10-6-2 record is not particularly outstanding.
"If Middlebury goes, I'd be surprised," Stitchberry said.
Missing the NCAA Tournament and a finals matchup with Williams will be especially hard for the Jumbos to swallow because they came so close to advancing. For nearly 62 minutes on Saturday, Middlebury and Tufts battled to a scoreless tie. With one resonating exception, neither team was able to put anything significant together and although both teams took a number of shots - 18 for the Jumbos and 15 for the Panthers - most of them were off the mark.
"It was a game played between the two 18's," Stitchberry said. "It wasn't played in each box. The chances that came were few and far between. They had a chance off a corner in the first half that bounced to [goalie] Scott [Conroy]. Garrett [Dale] was about seven yards out on a tight angle in the last minute and the goalie got a toe on it and poked it away. The goalies made two reflex saves."
Of Tufts' 18 shots, only three were accurate enough for the Panthers' goalie, Brian Hamm, to make a play on. Similarly, Jumbo goalie Scott Conroy only had the opportunity to stop three of 15 shots and was successful in two of those chances.
Finally, at the 61:51 mark, Middlebury was able to break the tie when Shapiro beat a Jumbo defender off the dribble and drilled a shot into the right side of the goal from approximately 15 yards out.
"I can't wait to come back and watch him play when he matures," Stitchberry, a senior, said of Conroy. "He had an incredible season, and he is only gonna get better with experience. He is a very talented goalie. He is really talented player. It was unfortunate that he had to let a goal in. Their player just went on an outstanding run, and it was a tough shot to save. It wasn't anybody's fault."
Following Shapiro's goal, the remaining 28 minutes played much the same way the first 61 did, with neither team able to get anything going offensively, despite opportunities.
"I felt we battled and we didn't play a bad game," Stitchberry said. "A 1-0 score says the teams are pretty even," Stitchberry said. "They scored a nice goal and we had a lot of chances too. It was a game that could have gone either way."
