Box Score Portions of recap courtesy of Bowdoin College
BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Tufts men's soccer team finished an undefeated NESCAC season today with a 2-2 tie at Bowdoin College in the regular-season finale for both squads. The Jumbos were 7-0-3 against conference opponents this fall.
Head Coach Josh Shapiro's Jumbos earned the #1 seed in the NESCAC tournament for the first time in program history. They will open post-season play at home on Saturday. Their opponent remains to be determined as conference regular-season play finishes tonight. The Jumbos will host either Colby or Bates on Saturday. Game time is tentatively set for noon.
Today, Bowdoin College rallied from a two-goal deficit with under 20 minutes remaining to earn the 2-2 draw with nationally-ranked Tufts at Pickard Field.
The Polar Bears move to 8-6-1 overall (4-5-1 NESCAC) with their first tie of the campaign and secured the sixth seed for the upcoming conference tournament. Bowdoin will travel to play at #3 Williams in the NESCAC Quarterfinals on Saturday.
Tufts, which made its first appearance of the season in the NSCAA national poll yesterday at #12, stands at 10-1-4 overall. The Jumbos entered the game having already secured the top seed for the NESCAC Championship.
The visitors jumped ahead in the 16th minute of Wednesday's contest as a set piece from 30 yards out was crossed into the Bowdoin box. An initial shot was deflected by Bowdoin's Stevie Van Siclen and caromed off the crossbar into traffic where Kyle Volpe pounced on the rebound at 15:32 to give the Jumbos a 1-0 lead.
Tufts doubled its lead shortly before intermission as Connor Brown played give-and-go with Gaston Becherano, who ripped a low shot past a diving Van Siclen at 42:42, giving the Jumbos a 2-0 lead at halftime.
The Jumbos appeared to have the game in hand as the contest entered the 70th minute, before Bowdoin mounted a furious comeback with two goals in a three-minute span.
Kiefer Solarte set up Bowdoin's first goal, winning a battle for the ball on the right wing and chipping a pass into the box for an oncoming Nick Stefano, who headed it under the crossbar at 70:06.
Moments later, Bowdoin evened the score as Eric Goitia cracked a free kick to the top-right corner from 25 yards out, knotting the game at 72:59.
The best chance for either team to win it in regulation came from Tufts' Scott Sclar, who came loose on the right side of the box with under 14 minutes to play. Sclar's curving shot hit the post, however, and the game headed into overtime.
Neither team put a shot on goal in either extra session, as the squads settled for the 2-2 deadlock.
Tufts out-shot Bowdoin 18-9 and held a 5-2 edge in corner kicks. Stevie Van Siclen stopped eight shots in goal for Bowdoin. Scott Greenwood made two saves in goal for the Jumbos.
The Jumbos will host a conference quarterfinal for the third straight season. They were the #4 seed entering the tournament in each of the last two years. The program's best regular-season finish in NESCAC prior to this fall was #3 in 2001.
Tufts was 6-0-2 at home this season. If they win their quarterfinal on Saturday, they will host the semi-final and championship rounds on Saturday and Sunday November 8-9 at Kraft Field.
#
