Box Score 
NEW LONDON, Conn. - For the second time in a row and third time in four years, the Tufts University men's soccer team are NESCAC champions. On Sunday at Harkness Field in Connecticut, the Jumbos (13-1-3) defeated the Connecticut College Camels (14-4-0) in a shutout 2-0 victory, not only avenging their lone defeat of the season, but cementing themselves as the best in NESCAC men's soccer this year.
The first Tufts goal of the game came at 9:13, scored by Sean Traynor off of a fast break, racing from Jumbo territory and lining up a perfect strike to put Tufts up 1-0. The second goal of the game came at 61:37, with Travis Van Brewer successfully converting a free kick that soared through the gap in the Camel defense to put the Jumbos up 2-0. Although the Camel offense maintained consistent aggression, they failed to convert any of their shots thanks to the stout Jumbo defense.
"The last time we played Conn was a good wake-up call for us," Tufts head coach Kyle Dezotell said about Tufts' 2-0 loss to the Camels on October 23. "One, they were really good, and two, we needed to be better. We had a good few weeks since that result, a little bit of a refocus which sometimes you need, and the guys were excited and ready for the opportunity today."
The Jumbos have withstood injuries throughout the year. They utlized somewhat of a younger line-up during the NESCAC Tournament in order to rest others, and still achieved the desired result.
"I'm really proud of this group," Coach Dezotell said. "We've had a number of injuries throughout the year and we've just kind of been a no-excuses type of group. We made a decision to go with some young guys throughout this tournament, in hopes of not risking it with a few other guys for the NCAA Tournament. We believed we had enough quality and enough talent with the players that we had available. We had amazing performances from some freshmen and some sophomores, some of them who haven't played very much this year, and they played a ton of minutes in the NESCAC Tournament. So just really proud of the younger guys, but also of the culture within the team be able to have the confidence in those guys to step in and perform in the tournament for what we think is the best conference in the country."
Today's match began as a strong back-and-forth contest between these two NESCAC rivals. Around the eight-minute mark, the Camels kept it in the Jumbo box and had a few good looks on the goal, but the Jumbo defense managed to stifle them. Once the ball was cleared to midfield, Jumbo junior Sean Traynor broke from the crowd, racing towards the Connecticut goal before anyone could get to him, arriving in the box with only the goalie and one defender covering him. He fired a rocket of a kick over the diving defender and goalie straight to the back left side of the net, putting the defending champions up 1-0.
This duel showed both the offensive and defensive prowess of both teams. The Camels maintained possession of the ball for the first half of the first period, but the Jumbo defense managed to stop them in their tracks. The first shot attempt by the Camels came at the 18-minute mark, off the foot of junior Steve Yeonas, but it sailed wide and to the right. After trading possession around midfield. the Jumbos began an offensive push of their own, but a yellow card at the 27-minute mark forced a free kick, which the Camels pushed into Jumbo territory. Camel forward Jake Creus had a great look, and was set to take a shot, but a brilliant Jumbo slide tackle cleared the ball for Tufts and kept the Camels from scoring. Jumbo Traynor got another fast break, and raced into the box with light defensive coverage, but was tripped up by Camel freshman Jack Kelesoglu, and his shot on goal was saved by Camel Sam Maidenberg.
Connecticut's best chance at scoring in the first half came by sophomore Rye Jaran, with just a minute and a half left in the period. Jaran raced into the box and fired a sharp strike, but Jumbo goalie Erik Lauta came up with a brilliant diving play to smack the ball out of the goal. The Camels failed to convert on their offensive blitz, and the first period ended with the Jumbos up 1-0.
The second half began much the same as the first, with Tufts and Connecticut trading possession, a defensive effort deserving of a championship spotlight. At the 61-minute mark, off of a free kick, the Tufts offense managed to break through the Camel defense. A strike from Van Brewer sailed through the hole in the Camel lineup and under the diving Camel goalie to put the Jumbos up 2-0, Van Brewer's fifth goal of the year.
For the rest of the game, the Jumbos managed to keep the Camels off the board, stopping any Camel offense in its tracks. A header by Camel junior Augie Djierdjaj in the box at the 69-minute mark, the first Camel shot on goal of the half, was easily saved by Lauta. At the 87-minute mark, the Camels had two quick shot attempts, but neither found net. As the clock wound down, Tufts was able to effectively play keep-away, as the Jumbo sideline began to celebrate. The Jumbos stormed the field, and soon hoisted the NESCAC victory plaque. The Jumbos had 14 fouls to nine Camel fouls, and seven shots to 12 Connecticut shots. The Jumbos led the Camels 5-4 on corner kicks and 2-1 on saves. With this victory.
The Jumbos also won the conference tournament in 2017 and 2019.
Tufts gains NESCAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament and will await the bracket announcement on Monday at 1:30 PM. The Camels are also likely to earn an NCAA spot.
Written by Max Chow-Gillette, Athletic Communications Student Assistant
