After losing three straight games, the Tufts men's soccer team knew that it needed a positive result Saturday at Trinity. 2010 was in danger of becoming a mirror image of last season, when the team lost its final four matches of the season and missed the NESCAC tournament.
But Tufts responded, fighting out a gritty 0−0 draw with the Bantams. The result ended the Jumbos' losing skid and has them in a prime position to clinch a spot in the conference tournament.
"We didn't want to come out of there with a tie, and looking at the standings and how things are shaping out, it would have been good to get a win," sophomore midfielder John Lewis said. "But to go into that kind of an environment and come out with points and play well is definitely positive moving forward."
The match was the epitome of NESCAC soccer: hard−fought and low−scoring. Both teams had their opportunities, but a pair of experienced keepers — Tufts' Alan Bernstein and Trinity's Grant Schonberg, both juniors — made key stops.
"It was a classic NESCAC battle," Bernstein said. "Both teams had chances, but, more times than not, these conference games are low−scoring and evenly matched."
Bernstein finished the match with eight saves, while Schonberg ended with nine.
The Bantams' formation crowded the center, giving the Jumbos' outside midfielders plenty of room to work. Lewis almost took advantage of Trinity's defense early in the match, but he sliced his shot low and easy enough for Schonberg to handle. It was one of three shots for Lewis, who rattled the Bantams' defense throughout the afternoon.
Trinity nearly opened the scoring when an error by sophomore defender Michael Walker left the Jumbos out of position and extremely vulnerable. Walker mishit a backward pass, springing Trinity's senior midfielder Peter Marlette free on goal. But Bernstein did well to come off the goal line, cutting off Marlette's angle and forcing the ball over the crossbar.
Walker worked hard to make up for the miscue; he led the Jumbos with four shots in the game. But Trinity controlled much of the possession in the first half, amassing seven corners and keeping the pressure high.
As the second half began, the game began to slow down, with total shots dropping from 13 in the first half to eight in the second frame. Both sides played rough, with a total of five yellow cards handed out in regulation.
As the final minutes ticked down in a grueling affair, overtime seemed inevitable.
But with little time remaining, Tufts had one more golden chance. Lewis played a ball over the top to freshman forward Jono Edelman, who was able to slip a shot past the Bantam keeper. The ball seemed bound for the back of the net until a Trinity defender sprinted into the area — seemingly out of nowhere — and cleared the ball inches before the goal line.
"When the ball got by the keeper, from my view it was going right into the net," Lewis said. "To see that guy come sliding across, I couldn't help but to just fall to the ground. I thought it was the end — I thought we were going to win the game."
Instead, an extra 20 minutes of overtime was in the cards for the two squads.
Trinity had the best opportunity to snag a late−game win when, with four minutes left, the team sent a low, hard shot sizzling through Tufts' box. But Bernstein was up to the task, diving to his left to parry the final threat to the scoreboard and complete his third shutout of the season.
The scoreless draw was a change of pace for a Jumbos defense that had been porous of late, as it had allowed seven goals in the team's previous three games. But everything was clicking on Saturday for the team's back line.
"We believe in the system, and everyone thought we were unlucky to concede all of those goals Tuesday" against UMass Dartmouth, Bernstein said. "We just tried to be consistent on Saturday, and it worked out well. As a whole, we had a really good game."
The draw put the Jumbos in a good spot, with just three matches left in the regular season.
Tufts is in sixth place in the NESCAC, four points ahead of ninth−place Conn. College. A win tomorrow against the Camels will clinch an appearance in the NESCAC Championships. The Jumbos can also still earn a home playoff game, as they sit just four points behind fourth−place Amherst.
But tomorrow's game will be a tall task for the Jumbos, who have struggled in midweek games, managing a meager 2−3−1 record in those contests despite playing some weaker non−conference opposition. The Jumbos will need to be fired up for this one, as their postseason hopes hang in the balance.
"We've definitely struggled midweek, and I think it's partially us taking our foot off the gas pedal during non−conference games," Lewis said. "The feeling is that we have been deserving of points in those games, we just haven't put the game away when it mattered. If we can do that against Conn., I don't see why we can't come out of there with three points."
