The men's soccer team's hot start was brought to a simmer Saturday as the Jumbos lost 2-0 to the Bates Bobcats on a rain-soaked Bello Field. The loss dropped Tufts' record to a sub-.500 1-2-0 in the conference (4-2-1 overall) and gave Bates its first NESCAC victory this season, raising its record to a matching 1-2-0 (3-2-0 overall).
The Bobcats took advantage midway through the second half of Tufts' inability to score. In the 71st minute, Bates junior forward Patrick Jackson netted a rebound off of a corner kick that bounced around the Tufts six-yard box. In its first lapse of the game, the Jumbo defense was unable to clear the ball, leading to the first deficit Tufts had faced since its Sept. 13 double-overtime loss to Colby.
Just two minutes later, Jackson and Bates once again took advantage of a corner kick. On a beautiful high cross from sophomore midfielder Chris LaBrecque, Jackson headed a goal past a lunging senior goalkeeper and tri-captain David McKeon.
The Jumbos would go quietly for the duration of the contest, and the Bobcats celebrated with exuberance after the final horn capped off their first conference win of the season.
With eight corner kick attempts and numerous other opportunities going for naught, the Jumbos were disappointed with their lack of conversions, especially in the second half.
"In the second half, we just didn't string some passes together," sophomore midfielder Pat Doherty said. "We weren't attacking the same way we were in the first half and that was getting in our heads. I think us worrying about not getting a goal made us have a defensive lapse."
Tufts coach Ralph Ferrigno agreed that the Jumbos could have performed better in the second half of the game.
"I give credit to Bates because I thought in the first half we were comfortably on top," Ferrigno said. "I thought they played with a little more desire in the second half and we showed our inexperience a bit. We lost our composure."
In the midst of a veritable monsoon, the first half was expectedly sloppy. Players struggled with the wet ball, sending many passes rolling wide of their targets and out of bounds. Tufts did manage a series of corner kicks near the 20th minute, but the squad was stymied by Bates freshman goalie Greg Watts and the Bobcat defense all day long.
McKeon did his part to keep up with Watts by posting his own strong first half showing. The Bobcats had some solid looks early on, but McKeon utilized his 6-foot-4 frame to discourage any real chances during the first 70 minutes.
A key to McKeon's first half success was the well-organized play of the Tufts back line. Junior midfielder Ari Kobren consistently took advantage of his speed to make important clears and quick runs down the right side of the field and into Bates' zone. Yet, despite a 4-1 first-half shot advantage, the Jumbo forwards appeared tentative at times and were unable to finish throughout the 90-minute affair.
Tufts' mistakes might be attributable to the team's dearth of senior leadership. While the squad has only two seniors on the roster, Ferrigno stressed that with more experience will come more victories.
"I think we've got to learn to play for 90 minutes," he said. "For the first 45 minutes, I think the team was feeling that we were looking good. We had the lion's share of possession and territory in the first half, but we've got to keep going to the end of the game. I think we played for half a game this time around."
"We came out unfocused in the second half," senior tri-captain Peter DeGregorio added. "We dominated so much in the first half and we thought it was going to be the same in the second half. We came out really flat."
The Jumbos will have a full week to refocus before heading to Amherst next Saturday to play a Lord Jeff squad that sports an identical 1-2-0 NESCAC record.
"It's not the result we wanted," Doherty said. "We've got to just focus on Amherst next weekend. That's got to be a turnaround game for us."
"We need to start playing like men and not little boys," DeGregorio said.
