In the eternal words of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “The waiting is the hardest part.”
For the Tufts men’s soccer team, waiting was certainly a difficult element of their NESCAC opener against No. 10 Williams on Saturday. Due to lightning, the game was delayed for over two hours just after the second half began, a memorable interlude in a game that otherwise lacked memorable moments for the Jumbos.
The Jumbos entered the game on a high note. They were ranked No. 15 in the nation entering the season by the United Soccer Coaches poll, having not lost any regulation games in 2024. In their season opener on Sept. 3, Tufts thrashed MIT 8–1 in a game that featured five different goal scorers. And, in their previous contest against the Ephs, the Jumbos had emerged 1–0 victors away in Williamstown.
“Going into the game, we knew it was going to be a battle against a NESCAC opponent like Williams but we were excited and confident after the MIT result,” graduate student defender Taylor Feinberg wrote in a message to the Daily.
For the first 20 minutes of the game, the Jumbos outshot their opponents 4–2. The Ephs brought a more physical aspect to the game, with midfielder Mohamed Keussom being disciplined with a yellow card after a foul 10 minutes into the first half. Despite their early success in creating chances, the Jumbos’ defense was compromised after 25 minutes by a blistering strike from forward JJ Ruehlemann. Though the first half ended with the Jumbos trailing by a goal, the game was not out of reach, and Tufts led the match in shots 9–8.
“We didn’t pay any attention to the statistics but … we were confident our chances were going to hit the back of the net and that we were going to come back from the 1-0 deficit in the second half,” Feinberg remarked.
The beginning of the second half, though, greatly mirrored the events of the first half. Under four minutes in, Ruehlemann struck again, firing a strike from near midfield past senior goalkeeper Nikola Antic. The Jumbos would be granted a reprieve within minutes, though it did not come in the form of a goal. Instead, the game entered a two-hour delay prompted by lightning strikes in the area. Storms bombarded the East Coast on Saturday evening, with some parts of Massachusetts coming under a tornado warning. NCAA rules require that games wait until 30 minutes after the last sound of thunder or sighting of lightning, and that the most recent flash is at least six miles from the venue, before resuming play. Though these circumstances meant that the Jumbos were unsure if they would finish the contest, it also offered them a break from the grueling action.
“The weather delay actually allowed us to regroup and game plan for the final twenty five minutes. We went into the post-delay period fired up and believed that we were going to come back,” Feinberg wrote.
Despite their rejuvenated nature, the Jumbos fell even farther behind as the second half dragged on. With just over 15 minutes to go, Williams midfielder Ben Brown scored unassisted past Antic.
Nonetheless, Tufts continued to push forward in an effort to get on the scoresheet. After a foul committed by Wiliams around minute 77, junior midfielder Henry Brown slotted home the second goal of his season and his Tufts career from the penalty spot. Brown has looked like a stellar addition to the Jumbos’ squad thus far in the campaign.
Evaluating his new teammate, Feinberg reflected, “Henry has been a great addition to the group and offers a ton of variety for us going forward. He’s very dynamic and will be dangerous for us all season - we’re thrilled to have him as a part of the group.”
For the remaining 13 minutes, the Jumbos threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Ephs’ defense. They posted five shots and a corner kick across that frame, compared to zero in either category by the Ephs. Alas, it was too little too late, as the clock ran out and Tufts was handed their first regulation defeat since November 2023 against Washington and Lee University. While the Jumbos were certainly upset with that streak coming to an end, its conclusion should not dampen the incredible nature of that feat.
Unlike on Saturday, the Jumbos will not be doing a lot of waiting this week. Their next contest comes in a midweek battle against UMass Boston Wednesday night on Bello Field. The Jumbos have emerged victorious in their previous two encounters with the Beacons. They hope to wrap up the homestand on a high note before embarking on a trip to Colby on Saturday.
“We need to get back to following our playing principles and executing what has given us success in the past. We are regrouping this week in training and making adjustments to be ready to go against UMass Boston,” Feinberg concluded.
