Tufts Draws in Dramatic Fashion with No. 12 Babson

MEDFORD, MA (October 1, 2024) - The Tufts University men's soccer team played a thrilling match at Bello Field against the No. 20 ranked Babson College Beavers on Tuesday evening, coming away with a 1-1 draw.

The two ranked teams began the match with caution, each side doing their most to maximize possession. The Beavers (4-0-6) held a high line on defense, making it difficult for the Jumbos (7-0-2 )to get in behind them. The Jumbos were caught offside four times in the first half, as the Beavers stood tall on defense.

The Jumbos were quick to adjust, however, and mixed in more dribbling and ball carrying into their game. Their efforts soon won them a corner kick, which saw graduate student defender Max Clivio rise above the rest to head the first shot of the game, coming in the 14th minute of play in the first half. Clivio had a strong performance on both sides of the ball, attempting three shots and putting one on target through 90 minutes of play.

Graduate student Mikey Brady had a great first half as well, as he became the next Jumbo to put a shot on goal. He would fire a shot from just outside the penalty area, which was unfortunately swallowed up by Babson goalkeeper Walker White. White would be tested again by Brady, who notched the third shot on goal for Tufts as well, but this shot would end with the same result; White pouncing on top of the ball to quell the danger. Brady would contribute significantly on offense, totalling two shots on goal off of three attempts across 51 minutes. 

On the other end of the ball, goalkeeper Nikola Antic had a busy first half that did not entirely appear on the scoresheet. While the junior netminder did make three saves across the full 90, he would see two of those three come in the first 45. Antic would stay busy between the infrequent saves, coming off of his line to both maintain possession with the back four, or to clear the ball away due to a probing Beaver through-ball.

The first half would close with two distinct offensive approaches apparent. The Jumbos were eager to pull the trigger, tallying eight shots with three of them landing on target in the first half. The Beavers were more hesitant, only shooting when a high percentage chance arose. Unfortunately for the Beavers, they would only see three of those chances, due to physical play by the Jumbos defense, and of those three only two were on target.

The second half saw a higher pace of play enter the match. The Jumbos were doing a much better job of getting behind the Babson defense, mainly due to great play on the wings by senior Ethan Feigin and sophomore Ethan Jett. The two Ethans were backed up by junior outside-back Mateo Bargagna, who was stellar both on defense and on the sidelines, using his strength to hurl the ball into the penalty area off of throw-ins.

The game would remain in a state of stalemate for most of the second half, until senior defender Taylor Feinberg had his clearance attempt blocked by Babson sophomore forward Alexander Yablonovskiy. Feinberg initially collected his own rebound, but the persistent Yablonovskiy pried the ball away from him on the Jumbos own goal line, dribbling towards the goal and slipping the ball by a sprawling Antic. The Beavers led 1-0 with 10 minutes to play.

The Jumbos were enraged by the Babson goal, immediately cranking up the tempo and intensity, pinning the Beavers in their own end. The Jumbos had three corner kicks in the final 10 minutes, and it would take them until their third try to score. Sophomore Xavier Canfin proved that the third time really is a charm, as he grappled with and leapt above the Beavers defense to flick a header into the top right corner of the goal. The Jumbos had their equalizer, and it could not have come at a better time, as they scored with a mere 80 seconds remaining in the match.

Every single one of those 80 seconds were played out with a frenzy, as each side scrambled to secure a winning goal, but neither would have the time to develop any meaningful chances. The match concluded with a final score of 1-1.

For Tufts, the draw maintains their unbeaten start to the season, and the score against them was just their third concession in nine games. The Jumbos would finish with 16 shot attempts, five shots on goal and seven corner kicks.

Tufts will be back in action with a NESCAC match this weekend at Bello Field, as the Jumbos host Trinity College (Conn.) in an afternoon match at 2:30 PM.