Jumbos still undefeated, still perfect on defense

Continuing its hot start to the season, the women's field hockey team recorded its fourth shutout in as many games on Tuesday night, blanking NESCAC rival Wesleyan 4-0 at Bello Field. The win, which followed a dominant 3-0 performance against Babson last week and a similarly impressive 2-0 win against Colby on Saturday, puts Tufts at 4-0 on the season and 3-0 in conference play.

For a brief time, the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll had Tufts ranked fifth in the nation -- though still behind conference foes, No. 3 Middlebury and No. 1 Bowdoin -- but the latest rankings bumped the Jumbos down to No. 7, just hours before Tuesday’s win.

The win featured much of the same quality of play seen from coach Tina McDavitt Mattera’s squad all season: strong offense with many shots on goal and few shots allowed. Though the Jumbos took a little while to open up the scoring, senior co-captain Brittany Norfleet got her stick on a ball deflected off the goalie just under 18 minutes in and buried it in the back of the net for her first goal of the season.

Tufts struck twice more before the half ended, taking advantage of a pair of penalty corners that saw sophomore midfielder Elle Chrupcala and freshman midfielder Mary Travers knock in crosses in front of the goal. The goals were the first on the season for each player, and the first in each of their college careers.

Wesleyan still struggled to stop Tufts in the second half, and sophomore forward Dominique Zarrella put the game away at 4-0 with her fourth goal of the season off of a pass from Norfleet.

Though the Jumbos’ 12 shots were the fewest in a game so far this season, their defense was solid once again. Senior goalkeeper and co-captain Bri Keenan only needed to face two shots and block one for her fourth shutout of the season.

“We’re just really focused on attacking when we have the opportunity, and staying disciplined on defense,” Norfleet said. “Everyone’s been working really hard, and a big part of field hockey is recovering on defense and everyone’s been doing that. It’s just been working.”

On Saturday, Norfleet and the Jumbos faced stiffer competition from a Colby defense that stymied them and kept the game scoreless for the first half. As usual, though, Tufts consistently maintained ball control and gave up nothing on defense.

Following a period of relentless shooting that lasted for much of the game, the inevitable first goal came just two minutes into the second half when junior midfielder Rachel Terveer put in a centering pass from Zarrella. The sophomore went on to get a goal of her own when she got her stick on a rebound 12 minutes later and put it in the back of the net.

Last week’s win at Babson did not differ much from the pattern the team has established this season. The Beavers fought off another relentless Jumbo attack for almost the entire first half, spoiling nine of Tufts’ penalty corners, before sophomore forward Annie Artz tipped in a loose ball in the 29th minute.

Zarrella added another goal early in the second half, and Artz capped off the scoring with her second goal late in the game to put her team up by three. The duo of Zarrella and Artz -- who have combined for seven of their team’s 13 goals so far this season -- has been a potent one. Though neither sophomore was a mainline starter last season, the two trained intensively in the offseason and have led the Jumbos offensively this season, earning praise from their teammates.

“This year’s been huge for our younger players,” Norfleet said. “They worked really hard over the summer and they came back ready to go. They knew what they needed to do and clearly worked on those things this summer and they’re seeing results. It’s great. It’s awesome to have younger players on the field producing.”

Despite Babson goalkeeper Kayla Costa’s impressive 12 saves against the Jumbos’ 25 shots, 15 of which were on goal, the Beavers could not get anything going offensively against a tough defense and Tufts notched the 3-0 win.

“Our offense starts with our defense—it’s a complete team effort,” Artz said. “Our defense has done a great job so far getting the ball back and then quickly transitioning it up field, which has given us opportunities to attack the cage. The forward line has also been working on quickly recovering back on defense if we lose it so we have another line of pressure on the ball and can get the ball back sooner. In the end, our defense wins games.”

The team has also gotten significant production out of junior midfielder Dakota Sikes-Kelip. Last year’s leading scorer has yet to find the back of the net this year, but she has fired off a number of shots on goal that have worn down opposing goalkeepers and set up goals for her teammates.

This weekend, the Jumbos look to stick by their mantra of “taking one game at a time” and to continue their hot start against their toughest opponent so far this season as they head down to Virginia to take on No. 9 Christopher Newport.