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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

Jumbos brush past Bantams to advance to conference semi-finals

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Tufts tri-captain junior forward Dominique Zarrella evades two Trinity players in their quarterfinal victory on Oct. 31.

Tufts recorded a 2-0 win in its NESCAC quarterfinal against Trinity at Bello Field on Saturday afternoon, with goals from junior tri-captain forward Dominique Zarrella and senior midfielder Dakota Sikes-Kelip sealing the result for Tufts.

“We overall played a great game," coach Taylor Dyer said. "Every game could be our final one, so I think we did a good job coming out strong and getting on the board early. We know that every opponent we face from now on in is going to be a little bit tougher, so we need to work on elevating our play throughout the whole 70 minutes of the game.”

The Jumbos had held the No. 3 seed in the NESCAC tournament, while the Bantams were seeded sixth. However, it was the visitors who applied early pressure offensively, closing down in the hosts' own half. Trinity's high-intensity game eventually presented opportunities for sophomore forward Kelcie Finn and junior midfielder Mia Olsen, as well as two penalty corners. However, they were to be expertly denied by Tufts first-year goalkeeper Emily Polinski and a defensive save by senior defender Alexandra Jamison.

“Trinity is a really good team and has some really dangerous forwards and midfielders, so when they got the ball near our defensive 25 it was a little scary, but between Lexy, Elle [Chrupcala] and Nicole in the back and Emily in net, I have so much faith in our defense to keep the ball out of the net,” Zarrella said. “Emily made some awesome saves and we had two defensive saves coming from two different defenders, which shows both how dangerous Trinity is and how good our defense is.”

The Jumbos slowly grew into the game, forcing the Bantams' senior keeper Sophie Fitzpatrick into three smart saves to keep the scores level. Tufts eventually made Trinity pay for its profligacy. From a penalty corner, senior tri-captain midfielder Maggie Chapman found junior midfielder Elle Chrupcala before Chrupcala found Zarrella. Zarella expertly found the back of the net to give the Jumbos a 1-0 lead just inside 15 minutes.

Tufts continued to pressure Trinity, but senior forward Hannah Park, Chrupcala and Sikes-Kelip had their shots saved and blocked by a resilient Trinity defense. Eventually, however, the Jumbos doubled their lead with a penalty stroke. The move was started off in the 30th minute by Chapman from a penalty corner, and Sikes-Kelip took a shot that was saved by the Bantams' goalkeeper. First-year forward/midfielder Hanaa Malik tried to force a rebound home, but Trinity first-year defender Molly Reilly stopped the shot illegally with her body. The resultant penalty stroke was coolly converted by Sikes-Kelip into the top right corner, leaving the keeper helpless as the Jumbos took a 2-0 lead into the break.

The second half was scrappier and less eventful than the first, as both sides sought to end each other’s offensive movements, largely contributing to the scoreless second half. Both sides sought to find a way forward. Zarrella came close to adding to the Jumbos’ lead, as her shot 51 minutes in hit the post. The Bantams came closest with a series of penalty corners in the last 10 minutes, but there was no way through Polinski and the Tufts defense, who were determined to maintain the shutout.

Despite the victory, Dyer felt the team still had room for improvement.

“The first half was definitely our better half; we were dominating play, we had a ton more opportunities, so that’s really what won us the game,” Dyer said. “[In the] second half we let up a little bit, which we need to work on and learn from going forward.”

Overall, Tufts outshot Trinity 18 to 12, with 14 to eight on target. Polinski pulled off six saves, while her counterpart in the Trinity goal was forced into 11 saves.

With this victory, Tufts moves on to the semifinals, where it will next play Middlebury at Bowdoin on Saturday, Nov. 7. Trinity will have to wait to discover if it receives an at-large bid to enter the Div. III national tournament.

Zarrella spoke about the fortunes of the team going forward, and has more than just the victory in mind.

“Right now we're really focusing on taking it one game at a time and practice this week will be intense, and will help us prepare to take on Middlebury on Saturday,” Zarrella said. “If we can keep taking advantage of opportunities on offensive corners and focus on possession passes and playing our game then good things will come. Losing to Middlebury during the regular reason is still in the back of our minds, so we're hoping to get some revenge.”