BRUNSWICK, ME (September 28, 2026) – The No. 11 ranked Tufts University men's soccer team rounded out their six-game home stand with a nail-biting 2-1 victory against No. 5 Babson College in a non-conference match on Bello Field.
 
The Jumbos (5-1-2, 2-1-1 NESCAC) were disciplined on the back line throughout the contest and refused to allow Babson to tie the game once the Jumbos took the lead. The Beavers (6-1-1, 1-0-0 NEWMAC) put the pressure on in the second half in attempt to bring themselves back into the matchup, but were unable to push past the defensive minded Tufts midfielders.
 
The Babson goalkeeper, Will Devall, was being tested early as the Jumbos fired off four shots with three reaching goal during a seven minute span within the opening 15 minutes of play.
 
Junior defender William Cornog struck first for the Jumbos off of a penalty kick goal after Henry Brown drew a foul in the box. The marker was goal number one of the season for Cornog and the second of his Jumbo career.
 
Nikola Antic did not face any threatening chances in the first half and ended the opening 45 minutes with two saves. The Jumbos entered the break with an eight to three lead in the shot margin, while also leading three to zero in corner kick opportunities.
 
The Jumbos doubled their advantage just over seven minutes into the second half following Brown's team-leading fourth tally of the season. Xavier Canfin picked up a loose ball around midfield and sent a perfect through ball to Brown streaking down the right side of the field. Brown was one-on-one with the goaltender and flipped the ball over the top of his head and into the far side of the goal.
 
Babson immediately went into attack mode following the Tufts' score and was able to cut their deficit in half with a goal from Blake Miller in the 73rd minute. After a free kick from past midfield was sent into the box, Alexander Yablonovskiy chested the ball down to Miller, who snuck a shot under the body of Antic.
 
Babson held the majority of possession in Tufts' half for the remainder of the game, but the Jumbos' defensive focus kept the Beavers on the outside until the clock ran out.
 
Antic ended the contest with five saves, while Ben Brown, Bijan Akhtarzandi-Das, and Riley Gray played the full 90 minutes. Canfin's assist was his third of the season, which is tied with Ellis Denby for the most on the squad.
 
Tufts is back in action on Saturday as they will visit Amherst, MA for an important NESCAC matchup against the Mammoths at 2:30 PM.