Box Score
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Ben Ewing had the game-winning assist for Tufts
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BRUNSWICK, ME - Freshman Maxime Hoppenet (Princeton, NJ) scored twice, including the
game-winning goal with 2:48 remaining in the first overtime, to give the Tufts University men's soccer team a 2-1 win in its regular-season finale at Bowdoin on Wednesday afternoon.
The Jumbos (9-3-2, 5-3-2 NESCAC) earn the fifth seed in the upcoming NESCAC Tournament and deliver a season-ending loss to the Polar Bears (4-7-3, 1-7-2 NESCAC) who did not qualify for the postseason tournament. Tufts, whose nine wins are the program's most since 2002, will open the playoffs on Saturday at fourth-seeded Williams.
Hoppenet got the Jumbos on the board first in the 23rd minute, beating his defender and placing a perfectly-drawn shot to the upper-corner to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.
Tufts appeared ready to walk away with the win after holding Bowdoin scoreless for the first 88 minutes of the game, but a late Bowdoin push resulted in a loose ball in the box. Sean Bishop chipped the ball to Sam White, whose header tucked just under the crossbar with just 1:46 left in regulation.
Hoppenet delivered the final blow in the extra session however, as a cross into the box from Ben Ewing (Lafayette, CA) came to his head, glancing off the post and into the net for the game-winning tally.
Senior Alan Bernstein (Wayne, NJ) was credited with four saves in goal for Tufts while Will Wise collected two saves for the Polar Bears.
The loss ends the career of five Bowdoin seniors, who rank among the finest classes in program history. In addition to their 36 career wins, the group were all starters for Bowdoin's 2010 squad that placed first in the NESCAC regular season and advanced to the program's first-ever Division III "Final Four" appearance last fall.
For upstart Tufts, the Jumbos missed out on a home-field berth into NESCAC's when Williams tied Middlebury and Trinity upset Wesleyan also on Wednesday. The overtime victory on Wednesday was Tufts' fourth of the year.
Match statistics
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Match release courtesy of Bowdoin College
