SOMERVILLE, MA - Williams men's soccer fell to Tufts this afternoon 2-1 on the road. The Jumbos tallied both of their goals and outshot the Ephs 8-3 in the first half. The Ephs came alive in the second half, peppering the Jumbo net with 11 shots and only allow five, but the Ephs only managed to breakthrough once, leaving Tufts to reap the rewards of a strong first half and to claim the win.

"We were the better team in the second half and not in the first half, and it cost us the game," Eph Assistant Coach Jeff Huffman said.

Williams is now 5-3-2 overall on the season, while Tufts stands at 6-2-2. The teams are tied for fifth in the NESCAC, sharing a 3-2-2 conference record.

The Jumbo's first goal came in the 24th minute off of a long throw in. The throw deflected off of an Eph defender and fell to the feet of Jumbo Maxime Hoppenet in the box. Hopponet took advanatge of the opportunity, firing the ball first-time past Eph keeperThan Finan '13 into the left corner of the net to put Tufts up 1-0. 

Hoppenet struck again 17 minutes later. Jono Edelmen played a through ball to his teammate, putting him one-on-one with Finan. Finan came off of his line to try to snuff out the play, but it was to no avail: Hoppenet slotted the ball past Finan to put the Jumbos up 2-0 going into the half.

Williams turned it around in the second half, regularly threatening Tufts goal. However, goalkeeper Alan Bernstein and the rest of the Jumbo defense held strong; the Ephs only managed to get on the scoreboard in the 85th minute, when co-captain Nick Pugliese '12 fired a shot from distance that deflected off of a Jumbo and into the back of Bernstein's net. Williams was unable to find the back of the net again following Pugliese's strike, and Tufts walked away with the victory.

Finan finished the match with four saves, all coming in the first half. Bernstein, meanwhile, was able to turn away six of the seven shots that went on net.

"We came out flat the first half, and Tufts came out ready to play," Huffman said. "At half time it was 2-0, and we just couldn't battle back from it. Hopefully the guys learned today that they just can't turn it off like a switch. Amherst we were ready to go and today we weren't, and because of it we lost." 

Williams now travels to Conn. College, which stands fourth in the NESCAC, to take on the Camels tomorrow at 2 p.m. 

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