The men's soccer team knew it had to win its third straight game in order to break free from the logjam at the bottom of the NESCAC standings and ensure an easier road to the playoffs. The Jumbos didn't help their cause Saturday against the 9-3 Trinity Bantams, dropping the game 1-0 in overtime.
With just one conference contest left in the regular season, Tufts is 7-5-1 overall and 3-5-0 in the NESCAC, tied for eighth-place with Bates and Wesleyan.
Although Colby and Conn. College are only one notch ahead, knotted in sixth with 3-4-1 records, the Jumbos would need a flawless game against Bowdoin on Saturday to secure a playoff slot. Thanks to its critical victory, Trinity (10-3-0, 5-3-0 NESCAC) clinched a spot in the postseason and now holds sole possession of second place in the league.
The final score of Saturday's game aptly tells the story of a tight, hard-nosed battle that required extra time to finally reach an outcome. Both squads had scoring chances during the first period, but their respective backlines stymied every offensive push. In the second half, the two teams found even better scoring looks, but both goalies kept the game scoreless through the end of regulation, with Tufts tallying nine saves and Trinity notching 10.
Ten minutes into the first overtime period, Trinity's junior forward Sam Wisner slid a pass to sophomore midfielder Peter Marlette, who was open in front of the net; he snuck the ball past goalie and senior tri-captain Dave McKeon for the game's deciding goal.
"One of their players made a nice play, and they put it away," senior tri-captain Peter DeGregorio said. "It was a long game; we battled hard but we didn't really get any lucky bounces our way."
"We both had our fair share of opportunities," junior tri-captain Bear Duker said. "And they finished one in overtime, and that hurts."
After timely offensive flurries in consecutive NESCAC home victories against Williams and Wesleyan, Tufts was unable to break through against the Bantams. Saturday's contest was the third conference road game for the Jumbos this year. Tufts lost 3-0 at Amherst at the beginning of October and 2-0 at Middlebury one week later. Saturday's result adds to the Jumbos' streak of scoreless road conference games, a fact that has forced the team to fight for its life heading into the final weekend.
The Jumbos must now turn their attention to a Halloween matchup Friday against Bowdoin, which carries clear playoff implications. As it stands now, though Tufts is tied with Bates for the second-worst NESCAC record at 3-5, Wesleyan (2-4-2) is also technically tied with Tufts. But the Cardinals would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Jumbos, who beat Wesleyan 2-1 on Tuesday.
On Friday, Bates will face off at home against Colby, which, at 3-4-1 in the league, is only a half-game above the Bobcats and Jumbos. Meanwhile, Wesleyan has a Friday home game against Conn. College, which is also 3-4-1 in league play. What's more, a win at Bowdoin would tie the Jumbos and the Polar Bears at 4-5.
Complicating the situation even further, Tufts holds a tie-breaker advantage over both the Cardinals and the Camels, but not over the Bobcats or the Mules. These factors combine for a situation in which the Jumbos' playoff chances are largely contingent upon the results of Friday's other league games. If Tufts loses or ties, victories or draws by Bates and Conn. College would spell doom for the Jumbos.
"Mathematically it's not a must-win," DeGregorio said. "But we really want to win; we've been preparing all season ... we really deserve to be in the playoffs, and so we're going to do everything we can to win on Friday."
"We just have to come out and play hard," Duker said. "It's hard to go up and travel to Bowdoin, but we've done it before. Last time we went up to Bowdoin, we won 5-0 so hopefully we can repeat that performance."
