MEDFORD -(Tufts) The NESCAC tournament got off to a surprising start as the eighth seeded Connecticut College Camels pulled off a major upset over the number one seeded Tufts Jumbos, knocking them out of the tournament. The 2-1 victory for the Camels sends them to their first-ever NESCAC tournament semifinal appearance. Freshman forward Graham Koval and sophomore forward Weller Hlinomaz could not have chosen a better time to score their first goals of the season as they helped hand Tufts their first loss to a NESCAC opponent this year and their first loss overall since September 20th. Nate Majumder tallied the lone goal for the Jumbos on a penalty kick.

The Camels came out quickly putting the Jumbos on their heels. With just over five minutes gone, Hlinomaz received a pass on the left flank from defender Ajami Gikandi and worked his way down the field before crossing the ball into the middle to striker Matthew Bitchell. Bitchell was given a of space by the Tufts defense and got off a well-paced shot with the outside of his right foot that skipped fast along the wet surface so that Tufts goalkeeper Scott Greenwood was forced to make a diving stop to his left. However, Greenwood was only able to push the fast shot aside and the rebound landed right to Koval who buried it in the back of the net as Greenwood had no chance to recover.

It was the fastest goal Tufts had given up all season. The second fastest? Against these same Camels in the regular season contest just over six minutes into the game.

Connecticut College continued to attack as midfielder Pat Devlin had a header chance and Hlinomaz saw a waist-high shot go astray.

The Jumbos began to find their offensive groove as the half wore on. Rui Pinheiro's free kick from just over midfield floated into the 18 and found the head of Sam Williams, but his flick on net bounced off the top of the crossbar and out of bounds.

Connor Brown took on Gikandi on the right side and made a great one-on-one move to beat him, but his pass towards net was just out of reach of a streaking Maxime Hoppenot and Camels goaltender Austin DaCunha cut it off. Shortly after, Gus Santos was free along the left endline and crossed a ball that was also intercepted by DaCunha.

While the Jumbos could not convert any of those attempts, Connecticut College struck again. Devlin took a shot at the top of the 18 that was blocked, but he tracked the ball and followed up his blocked shot with a nice dish to Hlinomaz's feet down on the lower right side of the box. Hlinomaz placed it past Greenwood for the 2-0 Camels advantage, which is where it would stay until halftime.

During the second half, the Jumbos produced the majority of the scoring opportunities, after the first half was played evenly with both sides getting off seven shots apiece. Connor Schaible took a free kick just inside midfield and the headed clear went right to Santos, but his blast rose above the net.

Hlinomaz and Koval, the two goalscorers, created a pretty give-and-go on the left side, but Hlinomaz's shot attempt spun wide.

Tufts, fueled by a sense of urgency, began to pour it on. Nate Majumder had two good looks, but one went wide and one was saved by DaCunha. Later, Pinheiro had a set piece from halfway between midfield and the goal that DaCunha bobbled, but did not cross the goal line before he fell on it.

In the 70th minute, Hoppenot was pulled down in the box as he attempted to run onto a through ball and a penalty kick was awarded. Majumder stood over it and calmly drilled it into the left corner, cutting the Jumbos' deficit in half.

The Jumbos continued to press, but despite taking thirteen shots to the Camels' three and nine corners to the Camels' one in the frame, the Jumbos could not find the equalizer thanks to a determined Connecticut College defense and a spectacular performance from DaCunha. Hoppenot had the two best chances to tie the game, but DaCunha, who had six saves on the day, made two acrobatic saves to preserve the win.

Tufts has given up just six goals to NESCAC opponents this season, but four of those have come in the last two contests. It was also just the third time that Tufts had let in more than one goal in a game.

The remainder of the NESCAC tournament moves to Amherst College, the number two seed who beat seventh seeded Colby in their quarterfinal matchup. The Camels will take on the Lord Jeffs next Saturday, while Tufts will have to wait to see if they will receive an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament.