2026 NESCAC MEn's SOCCER Championship
Quarterfinals
Sat., Oct. 31 at Higher Seeds
No. 8 Amherst def. No. 1 Middlebury, 3-2
No. 2 Williams def. No. 7 Wesleyan, 1-0
No. 6 Hamilton def. No. 3 Bowdoin, 2-1
No. 5 Tufts tied No. 4 Conn. College, 1-1 (TUF adv. PKs, 5-3)
Semifinals
Sat., Nov. 7 at Williams
No. 8 Amherst tied No. 2 Williams, 2-2 (AMH adv. on PKs, 5-3)
No. 5 Tufts tied No. 6 Hamilton, 1-1 (TUF adv. on PKs, 4-3)
Championship Game
Sun., Nov. 8 at Williams
No. 5 Tufts def. No. 8 Amherst, 1-0
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Fifth-seeded Tufts captured its second consecutive NESCAC Men's Soccer Championship with a 1-0 win over No. 8-seeded Amherst, 1-0, on Cole Field in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
The Jumbos (10-3-5) capitalized on a corner kick opportunity in the second half and stood tall defensively to keep Amherst off the board. Nikola Antic tied his season high in saves with seven stops to help Tufts collect its fifth conference championship victory. The Mammoths (8-4-6) entered the championship contest with confidence after defeating the top two seeds in the first two rounds, but ran into hot goaltending and could not become the second ever eight-seed to win the conference trophy.
Amherst came out of the gates hungry and focused, registering the first nine shot attempts of the game and were hemmed in the Jumbos defensive end. Antic picked up two saves on the two shots that were on target out of that bunch and kept the contest deadlocked at zero.
Amherst was dominating possession and led comfortably in the shot department, 12-1 heading into halftime. The Mammoths also held a four to zero advantage in corner kick chances and Antic ended the first 45 minutes with four total saves.
The Jumbos opened the second half with stronger offensive pressure and found the back of the net to take a one-goal lead in the 53rd minute. Tufts earned a corner kick chance. Ellis Denby delivered a feed that reach Ben Brown, as he rose up and headed the ball into the far left side of the goal to beat the Mammoth netminder.
For the remainder of the match, Amherst was desperate to find an equalizer, as the Mammoths fired off two sots and tallied two corner kick opportunities in the final six minutes, but were unable to find a game-tying score.
Antic grabbed three additional saves in the second half to end the conference championship with seven saves, the victory, and his seventh shutout of the fall.
The Jumbos earned their fifth NESCAC Title in program history with the win and went back-to-back for the first time ever.
With the conference championship victory Tufts earns an automatic birth in the NCAA Tournament. Selections for the NCAA Tournament will be announced on Monday at 11:30 a.m. at NCAA.com.
