Jesslyn Jamison, Women's Soccer
In Sunday's first-round NESCAC Tournament nail-biter against the No. 5-seeded Trinity Bantams, the No. 4-seeded women's soccer team looked to senior forward Jesslyn Jamison to keep its conference championship hopes alive.
The game stayed scoreless into the second half, but the Jumbos took a 1-0 lead in the 69th minute on a goal from senior midfielder Fanna Gamal. After a second-half dry spell on both sides, a furious last-minute showdown occurred on Kraft Field. With 48 seconds remaining, Jamison stole the ball from Trinity's last defender and chipped one over junior keeper Emily Weedon for her first goal of the season, giving the Jumbos a crucial bit of insurance. Just 15 seconds later, Trinity countered with a goal from sophomore forward Leigh Howard to get on the board, cutting the Tufts lead to 2-1.
The Jumbos will hope to ride the momentum from Jamison's game-winning goal in the NESCAC semifinals against Williams on Saturday.
Kyle Marks and Matt Rand, Men's Cross Country
Freshmen Kyle Marks and Matt Rand finished second and third, respectively, for the men's cross country team at the NESCAC Championships yesterday. The Jumbos placed third overall in the event, the first championship race of Marks' and Rand's collegiate career.
This season, the first-years have stepped in as the No. 2 and 3 Tufts runners behind senior Jesse Faller. Marks' time of 27:15, a pace of 5:27 per mile, was good for 16th overall, while Rand came in five seconds behind Marks and 18th overall. The contributions from the freshmen gave the Jumbos their best finish at NESCACs in four years.
Tufts had solid showings across the board, as the top five finishers all placed 32nd or better in the field of 121 competitors. Marks and Rand were the only freshmen to finish inside the top 20.
The Jumbos hope to continue their success at the ECAC Championships next week at Williams.
