The women's lacrosse team began its 2001 campaign with the knowledge that its schedule would be demanding. In fact, the Jumbos' schedule is ranked as the fourth most difficult in the nation among Division III schools.
Tufts will face perhaps its greatest challenge today, as it squares off against Middlebury College at 4 p.m. on Zimman Field. Middlebury, the 1999 national champion, boasts a 5-0 record, and sits atop the NESCAC, holding first place in the national power rankings.
Daunting as these facts may seem, the Jumbos feel confident in their ability to compete following a solid performance against powerhouse Williams last Saturday.
"We've been working on a lot of things this week," senior co-captain Jen Gregorian said. "We will definitely be ready."
Gregorian and the Tufts offense will have to overcome a Middlebury defense that has allowed fewer than five goals per game this season. With the exception of Amherst, which exploded for eleven goals, no team has tallied more than four scores against Middlebury.
But Tufts has the ability to put together offensive outbursts, as was evident on Saturday when the Jumbos racked up five unanswered goals in a period of 5:54 against the powerful Eph squad.
The team is quite capable of scoring, averaging 12.3 goals a game, but many of these goals came in blowout victories against weaker teams while the offense has faltered somewhat against tougher opposition. Tufts hopes that the Williams game spelled the end of its offensive woes, however, as the team seemed to discover the cohesiveness and composure that was lacking from its previous efforts. "Everything really seemed to click on Saturday," Gregorian said.
The Jumbos' defense will also have a formidable challenge. The Middlebury offense has torn through its opposition thus far; the Panthers are averaging slightly over 17 goals per game, and have defeated opponents by an average margin of 13.
But the Williams game proved that Tufts' defense is capable of containing a powerful offense. The Jumbos held the Ephs, which had averaged over 16 goals per game, to a mere nine.
The defense and sophomore goaltender Ari Kristen will have to concentrate on containing Middlebury senior Betsy Wheeler, who leads her team with 24 goals through five games. Wheeler does not represent the sole offensive threat, however, as the Panthers have four players with twelve or more goals.
Kristen should be up to the challenge; she has compiled a 58.7 percent save percentage to go along with a 6.95 goals-against average, both of which are slightly better than her numbers last season.
In the end, confidence might the most important factor for the Jumbos. After dropping its first three NESCAC games, the team members could easily be unsure about their chances of success. Gregorian, however, is not concerned. "We're confident that we can play with anyone in the NESCAC, even though our record doesn't show it," she said. "We need to know that we can compete with anyone. We need to know that we're there for a reason."
That reason is to win. The Jumbos desperately need a victory in the NESCAC to win a shot at the postseason, as they own an 0-3 record in their division. But despite the game's importance, Tufts is not approaching it differently than any other competition.
"It will be a new experience because we haven't played them before," Gregorian said. "But we're looking at it the same way as our other games."
"They're a good team," she added. "It will be a tough game."
