Camels too much for Jumbos

The women's soccer team dropped to 2-2 with a 1-0 loss to Connecticut College on Saturday. Out-played in the first half and giving up a goal in the 41st minute, the Jumbos were unable to make up the difference despite a stronger second period.

The Camels controlled flow of the game for much of the first half, winning a majority of the free balls and keeping the play in Jumbo territory. Tufts' game long tendency of being a little sluggish getting to the ball gave Conn. time to work the ball effectively and generate good scoring chances.

"We didn't play well the first half," coach Martha Whiting said. "We just didn't play with any intensity, any fire. We gave them too much space and too much time to get their heads up and play the ball to players' feet, and we were chasing the ball."

But while Conn. held the upper hand, the Jumbos played well enough to keep them off the scoreboard for most of the first half, making strong defensive plays when called upon.

The lone goal came with just under five minutes to play in the period. Conn played the ball to its back line after the Tufts defense cleared it out into the middle of the field. Camel junior defender Brianna Balboni got possession about 35 yards out, and sent a long, towering shot in towards the goal. The ball carried all the way through the box and into the net, dropping just under the crossbar and over the hands of a leaping Meg McCourt to give Conn. the lead.

The Camels threatened to add to their lead as the clock ticked down towards halftime, firing another shot just over the crossbar and forcing McCourt to make a couple more stops, but the Jumbo defense kept Conn. from adding to its lead.

The Jumbos were able to pick up the intensity in the second half, doing a better job of taking possession and putting together offensive drives, but it was too little too late. Despite four corner kicks in the first 15 minutes of the period, and a number of strong pushes as the half wore on, Tufts was unable to find its way on to the scoreboard.

The Jumbos had one of their best chances with just over 20 minutes to play. Camel freshman defender Nicole Doler lost control of the ball trying to bring it up across midfield, giving it up to sophomore Becky Greenstein. Greenstein drove the ball up the right side, then crossed it in to striker Jen Baldwin, who fired a shot at the goal. Camel goalkeeper Paige Diamond made the save, but the run helped energize the Jumbos, who kept up a strong attack for the remainder of the game.

Although Tufts was able to create a number of scoring chances over the last 20 minutes, the team could not put any of them away. The Conn. defense held tough, denying the Jumbos again and again, with Diamond making a number of nice saves to record her third shutout of the season intact.

"I thought that we played better in the second half, but we need to understand that we can't wait until we're down a goal and there's 20 minutes left in a game in order to really get fired up and start to play," Whiting said. "We just waited a little bit too long."

The loss drops Tufts to 2-2, 1-1 in NESCAC play, while Conn. improves to 3-2 and picks up its first conference victory.

Tufts will have the week off to practice, with its next game the Homecoming matchup against Bates. The team will concentrate on finishing chances and putting the ball into the net, something it has struggled to do so far this season. The Jumbos have just three goals in four games, despite out-shooting their opponents 52-26 and posting a 30-12 advantage in corner kicks.

"In general, we tend to get a lot of opportunities," Whiting said. "What we really need to work on now is finishing those opportunities. I feel like it's going to come _ it's a process as the year goes by. We have plenty of players who can put it in the net, but we just need to be patient and let it happen.