MIDDLEBURY, VT (November 5, 2023) -- The No. 20 Tufts University men's soccer team held the majority of the possession Sunday in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title match against No. 13 Amherst College, but a 54th minute goal from the Mammoths was the difference in a 1-0 victory for Amherst in action from South Street Field.
The Jumbos (12-3-3) ended the game with a 17-10 shot edge, while also posting a 8-7 lead in corner kicks in the game. The official stats also had the Jumbos with a 57-43 percent advantage in possession, including having the ball 65 percent of the time in the second half.
In the opening stanza, Tufts had multiple strong scoring opportunities including a 10th minute shot from
Ethan Feigin that whizzed just wide of the post. About 11 minutes later, a free kick from
Daniel Yanez hit the crossbar and bounced down to a Jumbo attacker, but he was whistled for offsides. Not long after that chance for Tufts, Amherst had their best chance of the first half as a header shot was stopped by a dive from
Nikola Antic. Tufts had a few more good chances, including a
Woovin Shin attempt in the 39th minute but his shot from 20 yards out was stopped by Amherst keeper Max Landa.
Both teams took eight shots in the first half, while Tufts earned five of the six first-half corner kicks.
The Jumbos started the second half with strong chances from Yanez and
Taylor Feinberg, but Amherst would get on the board in the 54th minute as Mohammed Nuhu chipped a shot from the left side of the box. The attempt deflected off the right post and in for the seventh goal of the season for Nuhu.
After that, Amherst sat back in defensively and was able to clear the zone on multiple scoring chances by Tufts. The best opportunity for the Jumbos came in the 75th minute, as
Gibson Campbell weaved through multiple Mammoth defenders before ending up one-on-one with Landa. The Mammoth keeper would make a big save from six yards away, which proved to be last great chance for the Jumbos to equalize.
The win for Amherst was its seventh NESCAC title, going back-to-back for the third time in program history. Tufts made its fourth NESCAC title match in program history on Sunday, moving to 3-1 all-time in conference championship matches.
Tufts was paced by the three shots apiece from
Mateo Bargagna and Feigin, while Antic finished with four stops in the contest. Landa posted a clean sheet with six saves for the Mammoths (13-2-3), which finished the game with 14 fouls to the seven from the Jumbos.
The Jumbos will now sit and wait to hear their name in the 2023 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Selection Show as an at-large pick, which will air on NCAA.com on Monday, November 5 at 2 p.m.
--JUMBOS--
