Until Saturday, everything seemed to be going right for the men's soccer team.
Tufts forced a 1-1 tie against No. 18 Middlebury in its opening match and pummeled Plymouth St. 3-0 in its first road and non-conference test. Riding this wave of momentum and sporting a 1-0-1 record, the Jumbos expected to continue their winning ways in Saturday's home match against Wesleyan, a team that Tufts handled in an earlier preseason scrimmage.
"No matter who you're playing, you always go into a match thinking that you're going to win," senior tri-captain goalkeeper Alan Bernstein said. "I think we were feeling pretty confident considering how well we had been playing."
The Cardinals escaped Kraft Field with a 1-0 win on a late goal by junior midfielder Rory O'Neill, due to the Jumbos' inability to generate scoring chances and control the ball in their attacking third. With the loss, Tufts fell to 1-1-1 overall and 0-1-1 in the NESCAC, while Wesleyan remained undefeated with a 2-0-1 overall record and a 2-0-0 mark in the conference.
The match's lone goal came off of a corner kick by Wesleyan freshman midfielder Dan Issroff in the 72nd minute. After passing through more than one Tufts defender, the ball fell to O'Neill, positioned six yards in front of the goal.
"It looked like they were going to kick it short, so I went out to stop it," Tufts junior midfielder Rafa Ramos-Meyer said. "They kicked it long around me, and we couldn't clear. When [O'Neill] got the ball, he was able to turn and finish under real pressure."
Neither team looked likely to score in the first half as midfield play dominated. Tufts put the only shot on goal of the half and Wesleyan was 6-2 overall, but the Jumbos never really challenged Cardinals' junior goalkeeper Adam Purdy, who recorded his second straight shutout. Credited with three saves against the Jumbos, Purdy's best work came in the 50th minute when the netminder punched away freshman midfielder Gus Santos's attempt on goal.
Throughout the match, coach Josh Shapiro frequently went to his bench, hoping to find a combination of players that could generate more offensive chances. This was most evident at the forward position, where Shapiro started sophomore Jono Edelman — who scored against Middlebury — but replaced him with freshman Maxime Hoppenet and then junior Franco Silva, who netted two goals against Plymouth State.
Tufts' trio of forwards, however, did not seem to bother Wesleyan's stout defensive front, led by senior center back Harrison Lewin, a co-captain. The forwards did not generate a single shot on goal and had trouble getting involved in the match.
"I don't think we were able to move and support each other as well as we have been in practice," Ramos-Meyer said. "I think it was also a matter of not being decisive and cut-throat in the final third."
Scrambling to score an equalizing goal with just two minutes left in the match, Tufts generated a corner kick off of a good run on the left wing from Santos. The Jumbos, however, were unable to capitalize on their final opportunity to score, as the ball was cleared effectively yet again by Wesleyan. With the threat neutralized, the Cardinals held onto the ball and ran out the clock to finish off the Jumbos.
Tufts returns to action this Saturday against Colby for its first NESCAC road match of the season.
"I think we're going to have to look to recharge this week in practice," Bernstein said. "The effort was very high, but we still have to concentrate on it a little better and bring a little bit more attention to what we're doing."
