The men's soccer team continues its quest to find consistency tomorrow when it faces off against the Bowdoin Polar Bears. Coach Ralph Ferrigno's team has been unable to achieve 90 straight minutes of good play and is still looking for a sustained offensive spark. Coming of off of a 5-2 loss to Bates on Homecoming Saturday, the Jumbos are looking to have a whole game of good play and come out with a win.
"We were disappointed by the Homecoming game," freshman midfielder Andrew Drucker said. "We are still looking to play 90 minutes of consistent soccer."
A stern test will come tomorrow as the Jumbos engage in a battle against the Bears.
So far this season the Jumbos have not been able to win two matches in a row. Although they have given convincing performances against sub-par teams like Salve Regina and Colby, they have not used the momentum from these games to capitalize in big NESCAC match-ups.
Going into last night's game against Endicott, the Jumbos have run up a 3-3-1 record, but just a 1-3 mark against NESCAC competition. This shows Tufts' supremacy over non-league rivals, as well as its inability to attain victory against tough NESCAC opponents.
As for tomorrow's game, the players are still confident they can fetch a convincing win.
"We have to come out strong," sophomore defender Aaron Nass pointed out. "We have to put Homecoming behind us and come out with a good win".
This will not be an easy task. Bowdoin is coming off of a 10-0 smashing of St. Joseph's College on Wednesday. The game boosted the Polar Bears' season record to 7-2 and demonstrated their offensive strength. Junior Andrew Russo leads the team with six goals and two assists while senior Tom Bresnehan has six scores and one assist.
For the Jumbos to emerge with a win, they will have to get better performances from their more experienced players.
"The older guys have to motivate," Nass said. "They need to serve as an example."
Having scored six goals in seven games before last night's game, Tufts has to work on finishing off opportunities. Defense is also proving to be somewhat of a problem for the Jumbo squad, as it has allowed 13 goals, second most in NESCAC.
Bowdoin defeated the Jumbos last season with a convincing score of 3-0, with current players like senior captain Scott Conroy and juniors Mike Guigli and Todd Gilbert on the pitch. Tufts has not been able to secure a win against Bowdoin in over three years. The team remains confident of securing a win, however.
"We are still looking for a good result," Drucker said. "We just need to play a consistent game." <$>
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