Well over 600 days ago the Tufts University men’s soccer team won its second straight NCAA Division III Championship with a 2-0 victory over NESCAC rival Amherst College.
Following the cancellation of the 2020 season due to COVID, the Jumbos will return to competition on September 7 when they host MIT in their 2021 season-opener at Bello Field. The two-time defending national champs are also the defending conference champions, having defeated Middlebury College 2-1 in the 2019 NESCAC final.
Some things have changed since the Jumbos last played a game. The team is now led by new head coach Kyle Dezotell. He was hired in March 2020 to replace Josh Shapiro, who left to take the top job at Harvard. Dezotell led the team through practices during the pandemic, but will finally get the opportunity to put his imprint on the Jumbo program in game action.
Some things have not changed. Seven Jumbos from the 2018 and 2019 NCAA championship teams - Calvin Aroh, Mati Cano, Derek Enge, Max Jacobs, Biagio Paoletta, Alex Ratzan, Travis Van Brewer - have taken an extra year of eligibility to return to the team. In addition, seniors Ian Daly, Zach Seigelstein and Aidan Welsh also return with NCAA Championship Game experience. Senior back Zack Dresens, juniors Eric Ingersoll (M) and Sean Traynor (F) and sophomores Woovin Shin (M) and Jacob Totz (GK) were also on the 2019 roster.
Ratzan was the team’s leading scorer in 2019 with seven goals and five assists. The veteran depth at striker includes Jacobs (5-6-16 in ‘19) and Cano (2-2-6). All three scored goals at the “Final Four” in 2019. Aroh, a D3soccer.com first team All-American in 2019, and All-NESCAC pick Van Brewer lead a deep midfield group that includes Enge, Seigelstein and Welsh. Paoletta, voted as a D3soccer.com third team All-American, and Daly lead the defense.
Even with all those returnees, the Jumbos will need new players to step up especially on defense. Senior Will Raphael, a key contributor to the national title teams, is unable to play this season and is helping out as a student assistant coach. There are two starting roles to fill on the back line, and Tufts will start a new goalkeeper this fall as well.
Also adding some intrigue to the new season are 21 players on the preseason roster - three juniors, nine sophomores and nine freshmen - who have never played an official game for the Jumbos. Depending on how many players Coach Dezotell and his staff decide to keep, this group will make up half of the team.
Tufts opens the new year at #1 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, with Amherst right behind them at #2. NESCAC foe Connecticut College is at #6 in the preseason poll. As has been the case for a while now, the Jumbos will get every opponent's best effort.