All good things must come to an end.
Such was the case for the No. 5 Jumbos on Tuesday night, when they hosted undefeated No. 8 Western New England under the lights of Bello Field. In a hard-hitting contest that suited the cold, drizzly weather, the Golden Bears scratched out a tough 9-7 win, handing the Jumbos (6-1) their first loss of 2007.
"Overall, we came out with some good energy and played a good first half but just couldn't put it away in the third [quarter], and they outplayed us in the fourth," junior midfielder Joe Cavallo said.
"I think we just didn't play our best game," senior tri-captain Mark Warner said. "And against a top team like [Western New England], you have to really play well or they're going to beat you."
It was clear from the opening minutes that neither team was going to run away with the contest. Tufts opened the scoring at the 4:33 mark with an unassisted goal from junior midfielder Alex Burnes, his first of the season, but Western New England struck back with a pair of man-up goals in the next three minutes, set up by dubious penalty calls.
"They weren't all the best calls today, but that's part of the game and you've got to roll with it," senior midfielder Matt Lanuto said. "Both teams were playing with the same referees, so it's no excuse."
Despite surrendering two goals, sophomore goalkeeper Matt Harrigan played an outstanding first period, notching five saves in the quarter, including one stop with his left foot that left fans from both teams buzzing.
"We have one of the top three goalies in the nation in my opinion," senior defender Alex Bezdek said. "As good as he is, when you have somebody taking point-blank shots from about 10 yards out, a few of those are going to go in."
Warner, who played his typical steady game while notching a goal and two assists, evened the score early in the second period with a bouncing finish from 12 yards out. Continuous solid goaltending from both keepers resulted in 10 minutes of scoreless play, but junior attack Connor Ginsberg converted a fast-break that was spearheaded by Lanuto, giving the Jumbos a 3-2 lead. Senior attackman Adam Cherry responded for the Golden Bears, scoring the first of his four goals on the day to tie the contest once again. Cherry also added two assists in a sterling performance.
Junior midfielder Michael Ludwig capped off a fine period for the Jumbos with his second goal of the season, giving Tufts a 4-3 lead heading into the half.
Both teams emerged from the locker room with a new level of physicality in the third. A result of big hits, the two squads traded possessions several times within the first few minutes, culminating in a massive check at midfield that leveled a Golden Bear.
The two teams swapped goals in the third quarter. WNEC's junior Jon Hayes tied the game at four with an unassisted goal, but with the game tied at five, sophomore midfielder Chase Bibby gave the Jumbos the lead with an impressive solo effort. After being tripped on the right side of the goal, he maintained possession, regained his footing, and fired a lefty finish past Golden Bears goalie Chris Body. Cherry's second goal with just three seconds remaining in the third quarter tied the game at six.
"That third quarter was pretty important," Cavallo said. "We had a one-goal lead three times, and we just couldn't put them away."
But the Golden Bears pulled away in the final frame, maintaining almost unabated possession for the first eight minutes of the quarter, and scoring three goals in that time to take a 9-6 lead. No comeback was in the works for the Jumbos this year; Ludwig's second goal of the game, with 2:25 to play, brought Tufts back within two goals, but the team could not draw closer, despite unloading 14 shots in the period and forcing Body to grab five saves.
"They're a good defensive team; that's why they're ranked so high," Warner said. "They definitely gave us some trouble offensively, but we could have played a much better game if we had moved the ball a little better. Still, you have to credit that to them."
Although the winning streak is over, the team was already looking ahead to its next games, hoping to start a new streak.
"Overall, what we should take away from this as a team is that it's easy to get caught up in the fact [that we were undefeated], but you have to focus on your league first," Bezdek said. "The important thing for us to realize now is that this isn't the end of our season. We know we're a really good team, an excellent team, and we have to move on and realize that Saturday against Colby is the only day for us to be thinking about."
