Four days after Saturday's heartbreaking loss to Middlebury - in the third minute of double overtime - the men's soccer team will have an opportunity to rebuild its confidence in a non-conference, home game against the MIT Engineers today at 4 p.m. The game should help boost the team's esteem - Tufts has beaten MIT by a combined 18-2 score over the past three seasons.
"It was a tough loss [on Saturday] but we have to regroup and come out strong," senior forward Pat Brophy said. "It's tough, but Middlebury is a good team and we know we played fairly solidly."
While the Engineers showed improvement when the teams met last September - Tufts won 3-0 - historically the Jumbos have dominated MIT and have won the last eight contests against their cross-town rivals. In the victory last September, midfielder Garrett Dale took seven shots and scored the game-winning goal in the 34th minute. Matt MacGregor and forward/midfielder Adam Lorenzetti also chipped in goals.
Tufts clearly outplayed the Engineers, out-shooting them by a 19-4 margin. Jumbo goalie Steve McDermid, since graduated, was barely tested, had to make only three saves in the 90-minute contest. Despite the imposing statistics, team members insist their opponent was drastically improved.
"They were a good team last year but we played really well against them," Brophy said. "We have to go out and play hard and take them seriously."
Going into Wednesday's matchup, the Engineers should be confident, having started the season with four straight victories by a combined 9-1 margin. The team notched three consecutive shutouts before giving up its first goal in Saturday's 2-1 win over Rhode Island College.
The Engineers' recent success, along with their position as Boston-area rivals, has the Jumbos fired up for the game.
"We take this game just as seriously even though they aren't a NESCAC team," Brophy said. "Just because of the Boston rivalry alone we take this game seriously. I think [when] playing any Boston team you just want to have some hometown pride."
In the wake of Saturday's loss to Middlebury, the Jumbos have been working to improve their offense, which has looked lethargic the first two games of the season. Coach Ralph Ferrigno has been emphasizing offense in recent practices in the hopes of increasing the team's productivity.
"We have to work the ball more as a unit and start finishing goals," Brophy said. "It was especially a problem in the first game. We have been working at moving and shifting as a unit and doing finishing drills."
Following Wednesday's game against MIT, the Jumbos will embark on a tough week. Beginning Saturday, they will play three NESCAC rivals - Colby, Amherst and Bates - over the course of seven days. To make matters more difficult, all three games will be played on the road.
