Still winless in NESCAC play and mired in the cellar of the conference standings, the men's soccer team headed into Tuesday's home contest versus Conn. College determined to revive the hope of gaining the final spot in the NESCAC playoffs.
With Colby (4-6-2 overall, 1-5-1 in NESCAC play) clinging to the eighth seed in the postseason tournament, the Jumbos needed a victory to have a realistic chance of unseating the Mules in their last two games of the season. But Tufts could not fend off the fifth-place Camels — who improved to 7-3-1 on the year and 4-3-0 against conference opponents — falling 2-0 in a hard-fought and physical match.
Before the start of the Jumbos' final home game, Coach Ralph Ferrigno and the Bello Field crowd honored and thanked seniors Pat Tonelli, Bear Duker, Dan Schoening, Ari Kobren and Michael Putterman for four years of dedication to the program. Their younger teammates entered the game bent on honoring the seniors with a win.
"We thought winning our first NESCAC game would be a really nice way to send the seniors off in their final home game," junior tri-captain Naji Muakkassa said. "Everyone was really looking up to the seniors and hoping to pull out a win for them. Obviously we didn't do it in the end, but it was nice to know that everyone was really playing for them today."
The Jumbos — who have notched their only two victories at home against Suffolk and UMass-Dartmouth — gave a spirited effort in the early minutes, looking to get on the board before the visiting Camels could get settled. By pressuring the Conn. College defense right out of the gate, Tufts earned three corner kicks in a span of five minutes. Unfortunately, none of these efforts resulted in a quality attempt on goal.
"The first half of the first half, we were playing very good soccer," Muakkassa said. "We had those three corner kicks and moved the ball really well. But all of a sudden, the tide changed and they started playing much better and took control."
Despite the early Tufts pressure, the Camels struck first with the game's opening shot, when junior forward Trevor Prophet tallied for the eighth time this year, climbing into a tie for the NESCAC lead. Prophet took a well-executed cross by sophomore midfielder Oscar Brown, and drilled it past Tonelli to open up a 1-0 lead for the visitors.
"We were really disappointed to give up that goal, but we knew we had to keep battling and hope to get back in the game," junior midfielder Ron Coleman said.
Play was even for the remainder of the first half following the goal. The teams split possession of the ball, and each had four corner kicks and seven fouls at the 45 minute mark. Though Conn. College out-shot Tufts four to three, Tonelli made two more saves and got some help from his defense on a third attempt, preventing the Camels from extending their lead and keeping hope alive for the home team.
"We talked at halftime and thought we had a good chance to come back," Muakkassa said. "In the second half, we were beginning to play very well again and I thought we were unlucky not to get a goal."
Freshman Kevin Maxham and senior Dan Schoening each had solid chances to score, peppering the Camels' net and forcing senior net-minder Alex Martland to make the two most difficult of his three saves. Tonelli, who finished with five stops, made his most brilliant save earlier in the second period when he stopped a header by Prophet.
Disaster struck in the 80th minute when freshman defender Max Feit picked up two fouls in a span of 80 seconds and was handed the first red card of his collegiate career. Feit's departure left the Jumbos a man down for the second time this year. But unlike their first experience playing shorthanded, Tufts was trailing at a pivotal point in the match when the first-year was sent off, and the game's momentum was completely reversed.
"We had a good stretch in the second half where we were moving the ball well and had it in their third for awhile," Coleman said. "But it was hard to keep that up once we lost a man."
"The red card really changed the game," Muakkassa added. "It put us back on our heels, and while before we thought we had a great chance to equalize and tie the game up, they scored three minutes later."
Conn. College's insurance goal was driven home with seven minutes to go in regulation by sophomore forward Brian Morgan on an assist by senior defender Mickey Lenzi. Morgan beat Tonelli with a shot into the lower-left corner of the net, sealing the deal for the Camels.
"Our heads really went down after the second goal," Muakkassa said. "It's hard to come back from two goals down when you're down a man as well."
Sophomore keeper Alan Bernstein, who played well in his collegiate debut against UMass-Dartmouth earlier in the month, replaced Tonelli after Conn. College took the 2-0 lead and collected a save of his own before the final whistle.
Even though it fell to 2-8-2 on the year and 0-6-1 in NESCAC action, the squad is not waving the white flag on what has been a frustrating and arduous season.
"We have two very difficult games left against really good teams in Williams, who are in second place and having a great year, and Bowdoin, and realistically we probably have to win both of them," Muakkassa said. "We obviously must win one and then hope that Colby and Bates aren't able to get a win in their last few games.
"But the good news is that we have nothing to lose at this point, and that's a great mentality to have for a team like ours, where we can just go out and play now," he continued. "It's good to know that mathematically we are not out, and Williams and Bowdoin might take us lightly because of the way we've been playing. This is a good time to show them that we can compete and get a couple of wins."
The outlook might be bleak for the Jumbos, but they nevertheless remain confident in their abilities with just two games left on the schedule.
"No one on the team thinks we're out of it just yet," Muakkassa said. "We know our backs are up against the wall, but we really have nothing to lose now, and hopefully things will go our way."
