Men's Soccer | Returning experienced squad, Jumbos hope to join NESCAC's elite

    After consistently finishing in the lower half of the NESCAC standings over the past few seasons, including a sixth-place finish last year, the men's soccer team is determined to break into the conference's upper echelon this fall. An experienced squad, Tufts hopes that its savvy and depth will help the team achieve its preseason goal.
    Coach Ralph Ferrigno returns nearly his entire 2008 roster, minus graduated seniors Dave McKeon (E '09) and Peter DeGregorio (LA '09). Tri-captain Bear Duker will be one of eight seniors on this year's team, as well as forward Dan Schoening, who last year paced the team in scoring with eight goals, good for fifth in the conference. With the wealth of experience comes a familiarity with each other's abilities, resulting in a more cohesive squad on the field.
    "Over the past few practices, we've had a much closer unit than in previous years," junior tri-captain Naji Muakkassa said. "There have been a lot of tough position battles, but we're all rooting for each other, and the team has looked great in scrimmages."
    Conversely, NESCAC powerhouses Middlebury, Amherst and Williams graduated many of their top contributors from last year, opening the door for a potential changing of the guard in the conference standings. Still, the Jumbos know that toppling the traditional heavyweights will not be easy.
    "We want to take things in steps," junior midfielder Josh Molofsky said. "Our goal is to finish in the top four and to get that playoff game on our home field, but that won't happen right away."
    To achieve that goal, the Jumbos will need to have a winning in-conference record for the first time since 2001. The Jumbos showed themselves capable of withstanding the fierce NESCAC competition last year when they beat Williams for the first time in 14 years by the score of 3-1.
    However, against the top three teams in the conference last year — Trinity, Amherst and Middlebury — Tufts was outscored 6-0. The Jumbos will get their first crack at reversing their fortunes again at the NESCAC's best on Saturday, when they open their season against the Panthers.
    Middlebury has had Tufts' number in recent seasons, but an early-season meeting could actually be advantageous to the Jumbos because of the turnover in the Panthers' starting lineup. But despite graduating three First Team All-NESCAC players, Middlebury will still challenge a Jumbos attack that ranked in the bottom half of the conference last year in virtually every major offensive category.
    "We don't treat [Middlebury] any different than we would any other team," Duker said. "We expect to win, and we see this as an opportunity to surprise teams in our conference by going up there and getting a victory."
    Tufts will face a strong non-conference foe in Eastern Conn. State three days after their trip to Middlebury, before opening their home slate with a tilt against last year's conference champion, Amherst, on Sept. 19. Managing to earn even a single W in the opening weeks would indicate significant improvement for the Jumbos — the team has not escaped with a win against either Middlebury or Amherst since 2005 and has not scored upon either squad since 2006.
    Nonetheless, Tufts is confident that a summer of hard work and countless hours on the practice field will guide it through that first trio of challenging matches and propel it into the NESCAC's elite.
    "Our mix of experience and youth gives us a great chance to win the NESCAC championship and get to the NCAA Tournament," Duker said.