SALEM, Va.–The men’s soccer team will play its first Final Four game in program history on Friday when it faces Tufts University at 11 a.m. EST in Salem, Virginia.
The Tommies, who are 20-1-3 this year, went undefeated up until their last regular season game before losing 2-0 against Augsburg. They then turned around and beat Augsburg 1-0 four days later in their first game of the MIAC playoffs.
The Tommies, after winning the MIAC tournament and regular season championship, were matched up with familiar rival Luther College. The two teams met in mid-October and St. Thomas won 2-1. This time it was no different, as St. Thomas went on to win 2-0.
The next two games were not as easy for the Tommies as both games were sent into double overtime. But they prevailed in both games, 2-1 against Benedictine (Ill.) and 3-2 against Redlands (Calif.).
St. Thomas boasts the best goals against average in the Final Four at 0.44 and the third best in Division III. Tufts is eighth in D-III for goals against average at 0.53, but have yet to be scored on in NCAA tournament play.
“They’ve been really stout defensively lately,” said head coach Jon Lowery. “So I think you’ll see a lot of what you’ve seen in some of the other tournament games where goals are going to be hard to come by.”
On paper, a case can be made that the Tommies are the better team. They have a .44 goals against average and have only lost once this season. Tufts has dropped five games this season and only scored 31 goals compared to the Tommies’ 40.
Looking at Tufts’ road to the Final Four tells a different story. The Jumbos went through four teams ranked in the top 25 on their way to the Final Four, according to the latest NSCAA coaches poll. Tufts started off beating No. 24 Springfield, then No. 9 Rowan, after that No. 15 Massachusetts-Boston and finally No. 5 Kenyon.
“I think it’s going to have to be a lot of attention to details, restarts, just little moments that are going to make big impacts on the game,” Lowery said.
The Tommies, ranked eighth, seem to be just another potential checkmark on the Jumbos top 25 hitlist. Senior defender Mark Heydt knows this game will be challenging, and wants to focus on defense.
“We made a few uncharacteristic mistakes in the first four rounds that we wouldn’t have normally made,” Heydt said. “I think if we just iron those out and get back to what we’ve been doing well all year, we’ll be just fine.”
Offensively speaking, Tufts biggest threat is senior forward Gaston Becherano. He has scored 12 goals for the Jumbos this season, including seven game-winners. Lowery doesn’t want to change too much defensively but does recognize that he needs some special attention from the team.
“We need to get pressure to him when he has the ball, we need to know where he is when he doesn’t have the ball,” he said. “Tactically we want to try to keep him in some spots where he can’t hurt us.”
The team arrived in Salem on Wednesday night, and had an early practice Thursday morning. Heydt does not think the long travels will affect their play.
“I think we are all a little bit jetlagged,” Heydt said. “Moving an hour ahead takes a little bit of a toll, but at the same time, I think we are all just so ready to go that it won’t matter.”
The Final Four games will be played at Roanoke College in Salem. The team and Lowery were impressed by the facilities.
“What a treat — I mean, it’s beautiful,” Lowery said. “They have a great set up here, they’ve been nothing but accommodating and it’s already just a great experience. And it’s unbelievably well done so we’re excited to get out there tomorrow.”
Lowery sees the big stage as an opportunity for this team to thrive rather than be rattled.
“Seeing the locker room and seeing the field and to be on the field, I think it honestly takes some of the nerves out of it,” said Lowery. “There is so much leadership in this group that I don’t see them be rattled by this stage. I see us taking advantage of it and I’m looking forward to it.”
The situation will be both new and challenging, but Heydt is hopeful.
“I think Tufts will be a really good team, I mean obviously, they worked just as hard as we did to get here,” said Heydt. “But if we stick to our game plan and trust in what we do, then I think that there is no reason we can’t advance to the final and ultimately win it all.”
Peter Monahan can be reached at mona7035@stthomas.edu