When midfielder Maya Shoham took the goal last week in practice, she never imagined she'd find herself back there during Saturday's battle with NESCAC foe Middlebury.
The state of Vermont is famous for three things during the fall season: foliage, maple syrup and the success of the Middlebury College men's soccer team.
For the fan, winning a championship is kind of like what sex is for a 15-year-old boy: more of a heavenly, out-of-this-world concept than an actual "thing." It's the ultimate goal that you dare to dream about but that seems totally unattainable. It's a constant battle that sometimes seems fruitless.
When it comes to tomorrow's Open New England Championships at Franklin Park in Boston, chances are this time, they'll count.
After climbing from No. 10 to the No. 7 spot in the national rankings this week, the field hockey team will face its toughest opponent yet on Saturday in No. 3 Middlebury. And the Jumbos couldn't be more up for the challenge.
Coming off its first loss of the season on Sunday, the volleyball team was without three of its top hitters on Wednesday night. Even so, the match against the visiting Coast Guard Academy was never in doubt, as Tufts improved to 17-1 on the season.
Apparently the women's soccer team is getting set to start a new shutout streak.
The men's soccer team rode an offensive onslaught to snap its two-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over Plymouth State Tuesday night on Bello Field. In a game that witnessed 44 total shots, the Jumbos received offensive contributions from all over the field with four different players netting goals.
If you combined the brutality of ice hockey, the explosive back-and-forth pace of lacrosse, the offensive and defensive formations of basketball and did it all while having to tread water, you'd probably still fall a bit short of water polo.
Often on sports teams, a large influx of rookie players heralds an era of rebuilding while the recent additions find their way around a new program in a new environment.
The men's crew team jumpstarted the fall racing season this weekend at the Textile River Regatta in Lowell, Mass., turning in some discouraging finishes but accomplishing its goals nonetheless.
Over the course of every game at FedEx Field, the rabid fans of the Washington Redskins continuously bellow out the verses of their fight song, the first two lines of which gleefully proclaim "Hail to the Redskins! Hail victory!" After the Skins' 23-17 Week 5 win over the host Philadelphia Eagles, the rest of the NFL might want to start attending the Church of Burgundy and Gold as well.
Senior tri-captain Peter DeGregorio battles for the ball during Tufts' 4-1 victory over Plymouth State last night on Bello Field. DeGregorio notched his first goal of the season in the win over the Panthers as the Jumbos moved to 5-3-1 overall. Junior Dan Schoening and freshmen Mark Blumenthal and Pat Doherty also scored for the Jumbos. See tomorrow's Daily for full coverage.
13 The Tufts career record for touchdown receptions, now held by senior wideout David Halas, who passed John Troy (LA, '00) and Rich Giacchetti (LA, '70) following his 124-yard, three-touchdown performance against Bowdoin on Saturday. Sitting with five touchdowns and five games to go, Halas could easily break the single season mark of six set by Mike Gorham in 1972 and classmate Steve Black in 2007.
The golf team saw its best result of the season on Monday, placing second at the Husson College Invitational held at the Penobscot Valley Country Club in Bangor, Maine. Tufts finished between two squads from host Husson College, which fielded two separate "Green" and "White" teams of five for the tournament. The Green team finished first with a two-day score of 597, 35 strokes ahead of the Jumbos' 632. The White team placed third with 639.
The sailing team is finally finding its stride after a somewhat tumultuous start, reeling in two first place finishes and a fifth at some of the biggest regattas of the season this past weekend.
I recently overheard a conversation between super-agents Scott Boras and Drew Rosenhaus as they were finishing lunch. Not only a columnist, but also a reporter, I decided to take notes. The transcript: Drew Rosenhaus: "So I say to him: ‘Plax, you're the only wide receiver client of mine who has yet to get into a scandal. You're a team player, right?' Next thing you know, I'm on ESPN fighting the suspension." Scott Boras: "Brilliant. So he sided with his agency over his teammates. Capitalism at its best." D.R.: "And that's precisely my point. The NFL and MLB are anticompetitive markets. In what other profession do you come out of college and have your employer, salary and location set for you? These leagues are monopolies." S.B.: "Exactly. And so what if I've ruined baseball's drafting system by having amateurs demand sums of money that only certain teams can afford? And who cares if I lie in arbitration cases about a player's previous achievements? Sue me." D.R.: "If only they would." S.B.: "I know. I would win since I'm better at my job than anybody else is at theirs. These athletes, the most talented in the world, sign with me to make the money that they deserve. After that, I don't care if front offices or league officials or clients hate me. How do I go to sleep at night? On top of a mattress stuffed with cash. Look, I got A-Rod and Pedro Alvarez more money by making them do something they didn't want to do. The bottom line is that figure on the paycheck." D.R.: "Word on that. And if I steal other agents' clients, well, I guess those agents should have been doing a better job in the first place. The NFL Players Association wants me to shut up, but if they were smart, they'd have Rosenhaus Sports run the union. I'm the best thing to happen to football players since the vertical pass. We are ambassadors of Kwan, am I right? We're just showing our clients the money." S.B.: "I still can't believe that Tom Cruise made a movie about you." D.R.: "You mean ‘Swingers?'" They high five. Upon touching each other, they immediately retract their hands as they feel a searing heat pass through their foreheads. "That was weird. But yeah, T.O. was my Rod Tidwell. I made Terrell Owens T.O. I brought him out of San Francisco, and where is he now? I gave him 25 million reasons to be alive." S.B.: "And J.D. Drew is a richer person because of me. People hate that I got J. Dizzle not to sign with the Phillies when he was drafted. Well, turns out those $10 million demands would've been a bargain. And people were pissed he opted out of his L.A. contract? Then why were those provisions included in the first place? Why should players have loyalty to their teams? They're not the greedy ones. Owners are making money hand over fist and denying athletes what they deserve. If this were a free market, these guys would be making twice as much. Why do people love Ari Gold and hate us? You're just as big a jerk as he is." D.R.: "Thanks! I also like to think T.O. and Clinton Portis are better actors than Vincent Chase. But we agents aren't middlemen. We're enablers. We enable players to sign big-money contracts and then we enable ourselves to our share." S.B.: "I like the cut of your jib, sir. I, for one, can't wait to cash in on Manny's contract year. All right, I got work to do. You want to pick up the check?" D.R.: "Five percent of it." S.B.: "Good one. I'm not sure that even makes sense. Speaking of nonsense, whose idea was it to change his name to Chad Ocho Cinco? Did you not tell him how that would impact his marketing credibility?" D.R.: "Hey, it's not always about the money." S.B.: "Good one." END.
They say it's always harder to beat a team the second time.
They say it's always harder to beat a team the second time.
