The men's soccer team took the momentum gained from last Wednesday's come-from-behind win over Salve Regina into its away game against league rival Amherst on Saturday. The Jeffs, however, would not allow Tufts to start a win streak and blanked the Jumbos 2-0.
Though the score might appear otherwise, the Jumbos felt they lived up to the challenge Amherst presented.
"We should have won the game," said senior captain Scott Conroy, who did not play because of a knee injury. "We took it to them and outplayed them, but there are some days where you just can't put the ball in the net."
Amherst jumped out to an early 1-0 lead just 3:58 into the match. Jeffs sophomore Rob Madden took advantage of a flat-footed Tufts start and fielded a cross from junior Joe Gannon to promptly shoot the ball past Tufts senior keeper Matt Sullivan.
"There were a lot of gaps in our defense for the first few minutes," Conroy said.
For the rest of the first half, Tufts generated scoring chances to no avail. One of the Jumbos' best chances came about 20 minutes after Amherst broke the stalemate. Sophomore forward Mattia Chason crossed the ball to junior forward Todd Gilbert, who failed to connect.
"It was an inch past my foot," Gilbert said. "I was right in front of the net."
Tufts tried to take advantage of Amherst's weak outside defenders and below-average goalie by sending the ball up the wings and making big crosses. The Jumbos had trouble driving the ball up the middle of the field due to Amherst junior defender Ben Lavely's imposing presence.
"Lavely was really good in the air," Gilbert said. "He was one of the few strong defenders they had. We tried to exploit their outside weakness."
Junior center midfielder Mike Guigli along with Gilbert and Chason continued to orchestrate offensive attacks for the rest of the first half after adjusting to Amherst's three-four-three formation.
"We pretty much dominated play after their first goal," Gilbert said. "We should have tied it up right away, but still created a good amount of chances in the first half."
"Guigli had an amazing game," Conroy said. "He was very creative in the midfield. [Gilbert] and [Chason] also played really well up top."
Opportunities became less frequent for the Jumbos after the halftime intermission. Amherst had a few more scoring chances, but didn't score again until the final minute of play.
"Everyone was pushed up trying to get the equalizer," Gilbert said. "Amherst dropped the ball into no man's land [behind our defenders]."
Jeffs sophomore Mike Wohl scored the final goal of the competition after a feed from Madden. A miscommunication between Sullivan and sophomore defender Aaron Nass allowed Wohl to essentially dribble the ball into the net after the rest of the Tufts side was caught too far up the pitch.
With the loss, Tufts moves to 2-2-1 on the season and 1-2 in NESCAC play. The Jeffs continue their undefeated season at 4-0 overall and 2-0 against league foes.
Tufts will square off again against Rhode Island College on the road tomorrow. Like last Wednesday's match against Salve Regina, this game will help the Jumbos prepare for their weekend NESCAC play.
"We have to get back on track and score some goals," Conroy said. "We need to beat Rhode Island and carry that momentum into the weekend."
Tomorrow's game will give the young Tufts lineup another needed chance to gain more game experience. Chason, along with freshmen Matt Maloney, Greg O'Connell and several others have been seeing more playing time as of late. Gilbert feels that the more time these young players spend on the field, the better it will be for the team as a whole.
"They are all good players and just need some more experience," Gilbert said. "The lineup is starting to come together really nicely now after a few changes."
Experience can't come fast enough for this team as the young Jumbos will look to master Bates in Homecoming Weekend NESCAC competition on Saturday.
