Taking the field Friday afternoon at Bowdoin for the final game of a disappointing season, the men's soccer team hoped to upset a Polar Bears team which was looking to secure the No. 4 seed in the NESCAC Tournament. The Jumbos kept things close for 60 minutes, but a pair of rapid-fire Bears goals in the second half buried Tufts, which lost 2-1 and finished its season 2-10-2 (0-8-1 in NESCAC play).
The loss was especially painful for the team's five seniors, who were playing the last match of their collegiate careers. A victory in the finale would have ended a down year on a high note for the graduating class.
"We wanted to get a win for the seniors," junior midfielder Chris Flaherty said. "We haven't had the results we wanted this year, and we wanted to win a hard-fought NESCAC game to end on a good note."
A recurring difficulty for the Jumbos throughout the season was their inability to score first, and although they kept the Polar Bears off the board for two thirds of the match, Tufts eventually fell behind 1-0 once again. Bowdoin's opening tally came at the 60:19 mark, when senior midfielder Carl Woock sent a cross to sophomore forward Peter Kelley, who drilled it into the top-left corner of the net, past Tufts' sophomore goalkeeper Alan Bernstein.
"It's tough to play from behind," Flaherty said. "We didn't allow a goal in the first half of this game, but it's still somewhat of a letdown to have the other team score, especially if you feel like you're playing as well as they are."
Bernstein replaced Tufts' starting netminder, senior Pat Tonelli, in the 48th minute. Tonelli, who had a fine season amid the Jumbos' struggles, left his final game as a Jumbo with four saves and no goals allowed. Bernstein had not allowed a goal prior to Friday's game, but he would be beaten once more just 86 seconds after surrendering the first.
Bowdoin's second goal of the game was notched by sophomore midfielder Nick Powell, who took advantage of another well-executed cross by Woock. The insurance tally gave the Polar Bears a 2-0 advantage that the Jumbos could not overcome in the remaining 29 minutes of the match.
"At the time of the goals, we already had a lot of freshmen in, hoping to get them some playing time," junior tri-captain Naji Muakkasssa said. "But at the same time, we already had our heads down a little bit because we couldn't make the playoffs, and it was tough to be scored on twice that quickly."
Nevertheless, the Jumbos were determined to avoid their sixth shutout loss of the season. They had few looks at the Bowdoin goal during the game, but they finally cashed in on one with just over three minutes to go. Flaherty picked up his first goal of the year, firing an unassisted shot past Bowdoin's junior keeper Dan Hicks to cut the deficit in half.
"We didn't give up even when they went up 2-0, because it was an even game and we thought we still had a chance to win as we have all year," Flaherty said. "I was glad I could get us one back, but again, the ball just didn't bounce our way in the end."
The Polar Bears replaced Hicks with senior Garrick Sheldon immediately following Flaherty's goal, but the Jumbos were unable to gain an extended possession of the ball in the remaining 3:20 of the game, sealing the victory for Bowdoin.
Things could have gone much worse for the Jumbos, though, were it not for the stellar defensive efforts of junior Alex Hart. Just minutes into the match, Hart, diving and kicking the ball out of the reach of Bowdoin's freshman forward Michael Gale, bailed out Tonelli on a blunder that left the ball trickling toward Tufts' end line. He would make another fine play in the early minutes of the second half, deflecting yet another ball that was headed toward an open net.
"Alex Hart has stepped in after not playing a couple of games and played great," Flaherty said. "He's a great player for us to be able to put back there if guys get hurt or if we just need a lift on defense."
Still, the loss was a tough one for Tufts to swallow, as it left the Jumbos mired in the NESCAC cellar without a conference win to show for their efforts. Tufts was defeated in its last four games of the season, managing just two goals during that span, and the Jumbos' inability to take down a league opponent resulted in their elimination from playoff contention prior to Friday's game.
"The ball really never bounced our way this season, but we can take some positives out of it, and we have a solid core group for next season," Muakkassa said. "There's no point in being disappointed and upset about it now, but it was definitely a frustrating season."
