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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

Amherst trips women's soccer

In a nail-biting NESCAC matchup, the Amherst Lord Jeffs defeated the women's soccer team 2-1, leapfrogging ahead of the Jumbos in the conference standings. Tufts, now 4-3 in the NESCAC, lost only its second game in two years on Kraft Field, the first being the national championship last year.

The winning goal came with 12 minutes left in the second half, when a defensive lapse allowed the speedy freshman Lee-Jay Henry to get open in front of the goal, where she rifled a shot past diving goalkeeper senior Mara Schanfield.

"It was a close game, but if a team has just one mental lapse, then that can be the difference," coach Martha Whiting said. "We were evenly matched, and I think that we controlled a lot of the game," she said. "I thought [Amherst] capitalized well on the opportunities that they had."

Amherst, now 4-2-1 in the conference, opened the scoring in the high-energy contest with just over seven minutes left in the first half. Off a corner kick, senior tri-captain Cathy Poor sent a point-blank header into the left side of the goal.

Despite these two goals, the Jumbo defense, led by junior Cara Glassanos, played aggressively. Glassanos cleared numerous balls in the first half, preventing Amherst opportunities. More impressive was Schanfield, whose six saves included two diving stops. In the second half, with the game deadlocked at one, an open Amherst attackman fired a shot to Schanfield's left. Schanfield extended her left arm and deflected the ball in front of the goal. Filling in momentarily for the goalkeeper, sophomore Jess Lovitz stopped a shot, and kicked the ball to safety.

Offensively, Tufts applied pressure often, but was only able to convert on one of 19 shots. Nine minutes into the second half, senior co-captain Lynn Cooper threw the ball in to sophomore Jess Trombly deep in Jumbo territory. Trombly duped a defender and crossed the ball to junior Elizabeth Tooley, who placed it past Amherst goalkeeper, senior Hallison Putnam.

"Tooley's goal was great," Whiting said. "She was very composed and put it far post, and that got us right back in."

With the crowd energized, Tufts kicked up its intensity another notch for an extended stretch of aggressive play. Junior Alle Sharlip led the charge, throwing elbows, knees, and even a punch at an Amherst player who was playing her too closely. "At the beginning of the game [the aggressive play] was a little distracting for the girls," Whiting said. "Then they just started to fight back."

Statistically, Tufts had a slight edge in the contest, leading in shots 19-17 and corner kicks 7-3. The corner kicks, which provided both goals in Saturday's victory over Bowdoin, were less effective against Amherst. "They were pretty aggressive on the corners, and they have some tall kids who got to the ball first," Whiting said.

With the loss, Tufts fell from second in the conference to a tie for fourth with Middlebury. There are two NESCAC games remaining and the Jumbos are in solid shape for a playoff berth. Home field advantage, however, will require some victories.

"There are so many teams with two and three losses, so this is not going to kill us," Whiting said. But, she added, "it's important for us that we do well in our next two conference games."

Tufts' next game is tomorrow afternoon against non-conference Simmons, who Tufts defeated 3-2 last year. Playing four games in an eight-day span will be draining for the team, especially at a time when Tufts needs wins. "Simmons has one great player, who is really fast," Whiting said. "She doesn't get much recognition because she is not on a great team. We will just put Lovitz on her and that should take care of it."

The 4 p.m. game will be the fourth in a five-game homestand, which will culminate with NESCAC rival Trinity on Saturday.