LEWISTON, ME (October 17, 2026) – The No. 23 ranked Tufts University men's soccer tacked on two goals in the second half after being held scoreless in the opening 45 minutes to grab a critical 2-0 NESCAC victory at Bates.
 
The Jumbos (7-2-3, 4-2-2 NESCAC) and the Bobcats (4-5-3, 1-4-2 NESCAC) displayed a lot of back-and-forth play in the first half, with the first shot on goal not taking place until the 16th minute. Willi Nicholas put two shots on goal right before the halftime break, but Isaac Kolaczkowski kept the Jumbos off the board.
 
Tufts ended the first 45 minutes with an 11-3 advantage in the shot column, while also recording a strong eight to one lead in corner kick opportunities. Kolaczkowski came up big in the first half for Bates, stuffing five shots on goals to keep the game tied.
 
Xavier Canfin buried his fourth of the fall in the 54th minute on Tufts second shot attempt of the half to put the Jumbos ahead by one. Alex Johnson picked up his first assist of the season on Canfin's marker.
 
Ryan Rizvi sent home his first of the year and second of his career just over two minutes after the previous Jumbo score to double Tufts' lead. Ben Brown handed out his third assist of the season, which is now tied for second most on the squad.
 
The Jumbos kept away any threatening scoring chances for the rest of the contest to cruise to the important conference victory. Johnson, Bijan Akhtarzandi-Das, Ellis Denby, and Brown each played the full 90 minutes for Tufts.
 
Despite not collecting a single save, Nikola Antic earned his fifth shutout of the season and 29th of his career in the victory.
 
The Jumbos are back home on Tuesday night for a non-conference clash against Westifeld State University under the lights at 7 PM.