BRUNSWICK, MAINE (October 28, 2025) -- In a game that has become one of the most competitive on the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) slate, two Top 10 teams in the latest United Soccer Coaches (USC) Top 25 poll in No. 1 Tufts University and No. 10 Bowdoin College played to a scoreless tie in the regular season finale for both squads at Pickard Tuft Field in Brunswick.
The draw coupled with Connecticut College's draw with Wesleyan University Tuesday evening gave the Jumbos the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NESCAC Tournament that starts on Saturday on Bello Field at 11 a.m. against No. 8 seed Bates College. The Jumbos (11-1-3, 6-1-3 NESCAC) finished the conference regular season with 21 points, two more than Wesleyan.
The game on Tuesday night was a chess match for the most part, as the contest featured just seven shots on goal with five coming from the host Polar Bears (10-2-3, 5-2-3 NESCAC).
In the opening half, junior
Henry Brown had the game's opening shot but his attempt in the ninth minute went wide right of the net. Tufts had two more opportunities midway through the first frame, including a header off of a corner by first-year
Alex Johnson but it sailed over the bar.
Bowdoin forced Tufts senior goalkeeper
Nikola Antic to make two stops in the first half, while the Jumbos also had another decent chance in the 40th minute by
Mason Shultz stopped by Bowdoin's Alex Ainsworth.
In the second half the Polar Bears would put more shots on goal but none troubled Antic, while Tufts had its best chance come on a look by
James Flagg in the 75th minute that was blocked and cleared.
Down the stretch though, both teams were content to pass and possess as the squads shared the points.
Johnson and senior
Mateo Bargagna each had two shots for the Jumbos, while Antic tallied another shutout with his five stops on the evening. Antic now has 21 all-time shutouts at Tufts, which ranks him third all-time for the Jumbos, just one behind Mike Gamsby '97 for second on the career list.
Bowdoin's Tyler Huck had five shots to lead all players Tuesday.
Tufts will be the NESCAC's top seed in the tournament for the fifth time in the tournament's 25 year history.
--JUMBOS--
