Women's Soccer blows out Gordon in home opener

Last year, the women's soccer team surrendered only three shots in its opening game of the season against the Gordon Scots. Two of those three shots skirted into the goal, while none of Tufts' eight chances made it past the keeper as Gordon pulled off the biggest upset of its season, 2-0.

This year however, things turned out differently. Gordon once again had just three shots, but this time the Jumbos tallied 39 shots en route to their 7-0 thrashing of the Scots in their home opener yesterday at Kraft Field.

"Today's win was a nice way to start the season," senior co-captain Jess Lovitz said. "We played well together as a team, and scoring seven goals certainly gives us a confidence boost for games to come."

"Last year, we possessed the ball a lot like we did today, but we did not attack nearly as much as we should have," Whiting said. "I was very excited with what I saw today, the girls attacked hard and played very well."

The Jumbos continuous pressure kept the ball in the Gordon zone for the majority of the game. The Scots didn't advance the ball past midfield until 15 minutes into the game.

Tufts' struck first with 23:05 left in the first when senior forward Jessica Trombly sent a low centering cross to sophomore midfielder Lydia Claudio, who blasted it past a diving goalie into the left corner of the net for the Jumbos first goal of the season.

The ensuing score came just six minutes later when Trombly sent a cross field pass to junior midfielder Becky Greenstein, who blew past her defender and sent a shot that snuck past the goal line giving Tufts a 2-0 advantage with 17:05 left in the first.

Senior Becca Doigan continued the onslaught just three minutes later, weaving in and out of three Gordon defenders, sending the ball past the goalie, but off the post. But, persistence paid off as she drilled the rebound into the back of the net to give Tufts a three goal lead.

Tufts' defense finally saw some action with 3:55 left in the first frame. Gordon brought the ball into the Tufts' zone and sent a weak roller right at junior goalie Meg McCourt, who easily gobbled it up and put Tufts' back on the offensive.

On the ensuing possession, the Jumbos made it 4-0 as Doigan decomposed the Scots' defense yet again, and in similar fashion to her previous score, nailed the ball off the post and tapped it in herself in front of a diving Gordon goalie.

Tufts came out in the second half with much of the same intensity, keeping the ball on the offensive side for the majority of the half. The Jumbos notched yet another score just ten minutes into the period when sophomore midfielder Lindsay Garmirian fought hard through her defender and sent a centering cross to junior forward Jen Baldwin, who was standing wide open ten yards from the net. Baldwin settled the ball and drilled it at the left post past a diving Scots' goalie for Tufts' fifth goal of the game.

Just five minutes later, Baldwin dropped a pass to sophomore forward Sarah Callaghan who, from 25 yards out, sent a laser off the keeper's fingertips to put Tufts up 6-0.

Six minutes after Callaghan's goal Tufts struck again. Junior midfielder Sarah Gelb got control of the ball off a header, slipped by her defender and sent a strong left footed shot top shelf to put the icing on the cake for the Jumbos.

"It felt good to start scoring goals earlier in the season because last year it took us longer to get going," Callaghan said. "We know we have things to work on but today was definitely a positive start to our season."

The Jumbos did not let up at any point in the second half, as McCourt faced no shots on goal and did not touch the ball once.

After Gelb's goal, Whiting inserted her first year players to get them experience in collegiate level games. Even backup goalie Annie Ross saw 12 minutes of action, and while she faced no shots on goal, gained experience that could prove valuable in the future.

"We're pretty fortunate to have this big group of girls, and we're a very deep team," Whiting said. "We got to play everyone today, which was great because you never know what situation will arise in which you will have to put in a new player, so any experience is valuable."

The Jumbos defense, though rarely tested, remained solid throughout the game. Led by Lovitz and fellow senior co-captain Abby Herzberg, the defense was flawless in keeping Gordon senior tri-captain Lindsay Benson, who led the nation in scoring last year with 40 goals, off the board and allowed just four shots on goal.

In addition to giving all the freshmen a chance to play, the mediocre opposition also allowed the Jumbos to try their returning players at new positions.

Former right fullback, junior Alina Schmidt played the entire first half at defensive center midfielder, a position occupied by junior Catherine Benidict last season. Benedict, along with Lovitz, patrolled the defense at the sweeper position, played last season by All-American senior captain Cara Glassanos.

In addition, Whiting tried Trombly at outside midfielder for the latter part of the first half.