Perhaps there was only one fitting way for the field hockey team to wrap up its record-setting regular season: by making a little more history.
In what is sure to go down as one of the biggest wins in school history, national No. 4 Tufts completed a perfect 14-0 regular season by upsetting No. 1 Bowdoin 4-3 Friday night in Brunswick, Maine. With the victory, the team's first over the defending national champion Polar Bears since 1998, the Jumbos clinched their first-ever NESCAC regular season title and earned the right to host the semifinal and championship rounds of the conference tournament, which will take place this weekend. "It's just such a great feeling," senior tri-captain Tess Jasinski said. "It was such an exciting game, very back and forth. Bowdoin put a lot of pressure on us, and we put a lot of pressure on them. I think we did a great job of keeping our composure and doing the little things. It's just an unbelievable feeling to finish undefeated."
Including its wins over then-No. 3 Middlebury on Oct. 11 and then-No. 9 Trinity on Oct. 25, Tufts has now recorded victories over three NESCAC foes ranked in the top 10 this season, all on the road and all in one-goal games.
"It feels amazing," sophomore forward Tamara Brown said. "We worked really hard for this all winter, all spring, all summer, and this is a great reflection of that. We do take it one game at a time, but this game was definitely in the back of our heads. Now we get to host NESCACs, which is something that Tufts has never done before. It's a great way to end the regular season and start the postseason."
What was supposed to be a battle between the top two defensive teams in the NESCAC -- Tufts and Bowdoin had allowed a mere 15 combined goals entering Friday's contest -- quickly turned into an electrifying shootout, with the squads combining for five goals in the first half alone. Ultimately, the Jumbos' depth made the difference, as the team received scoring from all three of its forwards, Brown and juniors Michelle Kelly and Amanda Russo.
"This is the greatest offensive output we've ever had," senior tri-captain Marlee Kutcher said. "All three of our starting forwards are a huge threat, and they all work together so well. I think this year, more than any other, we just have a will to score. We all want to score and to win so much that we just get it done."
Meanwhile, Tufts contained the Polar Bears' top scoring threat, All-American senior tri-captain Lindsay McNamara, who entered the game with a conference-best 25 goals. The Jumbos held McNamara to just one shot attempt the entire night.
"We just have such a strong team of 23 players, and I think that's what it comes down to at the end of the day," coach Tina McDavitt said. "We're not just relying on one person to get the job done. Tamara, Amanda Russo and Michelle scored for us today. You look at [Bowdoin's] stats and yes, Lindsay McNamara has 25 goals and she's amazing, but the next person has four. [Our top three scorers] now have 19, 12 and 11. I think it's a really well-balanced attack and really well-balanced all over the field."
On their way to the monumental victory, the Jumbos faced an unusual predicament: playing from behind. Just 5:49 into the game, Bowdoin grabbed a 1-0 lead on a goal by junior forward Shavonne Lord, marking the first time all season Tufts had trailed.
The deficit lasted all of six minutes, however, as Brown knotted the score at 1-1 off a penalty corner with 23:04 remaining in the period. Brown's tally was her 19th of 2008, breaking the program's single-season goals record set by her former teammate Ileana Casellas-Katz (LA '08) last year. More importantly, Brown's goal took away any early momentum the Polar Bears had built and prevented Bowdoin from running away with the game early.
"I think we did a great job after they scored," Jasinski said. "That was I think the first time we'd been down all season, and we were able to come back strong and put in a goal right away. I think it just shows how strong we are mentally, the way we were able to just come right back and get it done."
Russo and Kelly then got in on the action, each tallying an unassisted goal that gave Tufts a 3-1 advantage with 3:57 remaining in the period. Bowdoin responded, pulling within one ahead of the first-half buzzer on a goal by senior midfielder Katherine Gormley.
But in the game's 48th minute, Kelly quelled any threat of a comeback, managing an incredible individual effort that culminated in her second goal of the game and the eventual game-winner for Tufts.
"[Senior tri-captain Brittany Holiday] gave me a great pass about 45 yards away from the goal, and I pulled it left and brought it around my defender," Kelly said. "I was able to beat her to the sideline, and as I was bringing it in, the goalie stepped out. I saw an angle, and I was able to slip it by her."
A goal by Bowdoin senior tri-captain Julia King with 6:54 to play made for an anxious final five minutes for the Jumbos. But as had been the case throughout the second half, Bowdoin failed to convert on its opportunities, missing on two penalty corner chances and a potential game-tying shot in the waning minutes.
Freshman goalkeeper Marianna Zak aided the effort, holding a Polar Bear offense that had eight penalty corners in the final 35 minutes to just one second-half goal.
Following yesterday's 5-1 victory over Colby in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament, the top-seeded Jumbos will host No. 5 Trinity in semifinal action on Saturday, having earned home-field advantage for the remainder of the conference tournament. With its remarkable regular season now in the rear-view mirror, Tufts has its sights set on adding to its memorable 2008 campaign.
"Every year our goal has been to host the NESCAC Tournament," Kutcher said. "We never really dreamed of having a perfect season, and this year, those have come hand-in-hand, but we're not going to get complacent. We know that we have a lot of games ahead of us, and we know we have higher goals that we want to reach."
Michael Spera contributed reporting to this article.
