It's been a while since the men's soccer team has felt comfortable with its NESCAC postseason chances. But after having started their conference slate 1-4-0, the Jumbos scored a key 3-1 victory over Williams on Saturday and came into Tuesday night's home match against Wesleyan hungry to continue the upward trend in their final regular season home contest.
Confronted with the prospect of missing the NESCAC Tournament, Tufts overcame a first-half deficit to topple the Cardinals 2-1 on Bello Field. With the win, the Jumbos improved to 7-4-1 overall and 3-4 in the NESCAC, tying them with Wesleyan and Conn. College for sixth in the conference. The top eight finishers in the league qualify for the postseason.
The Jumbos looked like anything but a playoff contender in the first half. Wesleyan controlled the tempo throughout the first 45 minutes, creating a number of scoring chances while the home side struggled to get a solid look at the goal. Almost inevitably, the Cardinals broke through in the 31st minute when freshman Harrison Lewin ran the ball deep into the left corner and crossed it to sophomore Geoff Zartarian, who settled the ball and blasted it past Tufts goalie and senior tri-captain Dave McKeon.
In the half's final few minutes, Wesleyan had a series of good looks at the goal off corners. In one notable sequence, Zatarian volleyed a corner kick off of the crossbar, and McKeon barely tipped a rebound header from Cardinal junior Asante Brooks over the bar. Meanwhile, Tufts managed just one shot in the half and looked like a team ready to call it quits.
"We looked absolutely dreadful in the first half, without putting too fine a point on it," coach Ralph Ferrigno said. "I can't repeat what I said to them at halftime, but we just weren't in the races in the first half mentally or physically."
"We just came out on our heels in the first half," McKeon said. "We didn't put on a lot of pressure."
In the second half, however, the Jumbos played with the type of urgency necessary for a squad hoping to extend its season into the playoffs. Senior tri-captain Peter DeGregorio, playing his second straight game at midfield after spending the balance of the season as a defender, blasted a huge right-foot shot from the top-right corner of the box past the dive of Wesleyan sophomore goalie Nigel Stacey to even the game at 1-1.
"[It was the] right place at the right time," DeGregorio said. "[There was] a little bit of luck on our side tonight,"
Less than four minutes later, sophomore Alex Lach spun neatly in the box and dropped the ball off to junior Dan Schoening, who parked a rocket in the back of the net for his team-leading sixth score of the year.
"I think we started to get out there and run harder and compete harder," Ferrigno said of the second half. "Even though we didn't attack much in the first half, I still had a sense that they might be a little vulnerable down the middle, at the back, and that proved to be the case."
Wesleyan had a few chances toward the end of regulation, but McKeon and the Tufts defense were stingy enough to prevent any last-minute Cardinal heroics.
"I think we failed to pressure the ball around our penalty box, and they were able to get good shots off," Wesleyan coach Geoff Wheeler said. "In the second half I thought they stepped it up, and we kind of expected it. They hit two great shots, and unfortunately, despite our opportunities, we didn't get a second one in."
The Jumbos will complete the regular season with road contests at Trinity and Bowdoin, games that will determine whether Tufts will be playing in November.
"We need at least one win, maybe two, to make the tournament," McKeon said. "We've got to keep playing hard like we've been playing these last two games, and if we can keep it going like this we can win one or two."
"They're both going to be really tough games," DeGregorio said. "And as long as we keep bringing the intensity, we have a good chance."
