BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's soccer team suffered its first loss of the season in a 3-1 fashion to the visiting No. 1 nationally-ranked Tufts University Jumbos on Tuesday night at Endicott Stadium.
The Jumbos came out fast and firing as they set the tempo early when junior forward Gaston Becherano (Hollywood, Fla.) deposited the first goal of Tufts' season on a header sent to the back left corner of the net just 38-seconds into the match. He was assisted by senior midfielder Connor Brown (Bow, N.H.).
The Jumbos added another early goal in the 13th minute on a free kick by senior midfielder Rui Pinheiro (Princeton, N.J.) that junior back Daniel Sullivan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) headed into the back right corner to put Tufts up 2-0.
Senior forward Abdulla Al Khalifa (Riffa, Bahrain) gave the Gulls some momentum going into the half with a shot to the back right of the net on a breakaway pass from senior midfielder Shintaroh Itoh (Nerima, Tokyo, Japan) to get the crowd on their feet with nine seconds remaining.
Sophomore forward Dexter Eichhorst (Bolinasm, Calif.) gave Tufts an insurance goal in the 74th minute on a pass from senior midfielder Jason Kayne (Deerfield, Ill.) that all but put the game back out of reach as the Jumbos were able to shut down any potential attacks from there on out.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Today's match was the fourth time Endicott and Tufts faced off on a Tuesday in men's soccer and first meeting since a 2-0 Tufts victory on Sept. 18, 2012. The Jumbos were ranked No. 22 in the country at the time of their match in 2012.
- Today's match was the Jumbos' first time on the pitch since capturing the NCAA Division III title last season in a 4-2 triumph over Wheaton (Ill.).
- Itoh led the Gulls with five shot attempts on the night and picked up his first assist of the season, which is his first in a Gulls' uniform
- Junior goalkeeper Nick Weinstein (Trumbull, Conn.) made two saves in the second half, tying his career best going back to Friday night against No. 6/16 Calvin College where he recorded two saves in both the first and second half.
FOR THE FOES
- Becherano paced the Jumbos with three shots to go with his first goal of the season.
- Sullivan scored the first goal of his career.
- Junior goalkeeper Nick Hallett (Weymouth, Mass.) recorded three saves.
NOTES
- Today's match saw Tufts improve to 6-0-0 all-time against Endicott, dating back to their first meeting in 2003.
- Today was the hottest September 8 (96 degrees) on record in the history of Massachusetts.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (1-1-1) goes on the road for the first time this season as they will face conference foe U. of New England on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 3:30 p.m. No. 1 nationally-ranked Tufts University will host their season opener against Colby College Saturday, Sept. 12 at 3:00 p.m. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.