The women's field hockey team dropped its fourth consecutive decision on Saturday, falling to the Colby White Mules by a score of 3-1. The Jumbos' record dropped to 0-2 in the NESCAC and 0-4 overall, while Colby continued its impressive start to the season, improving to 4-0.
The Tufts' offense attacked in first minute of play only to see its surge easily quelled by the stalwart Colby defense. The Mules then marched the ball downfield, catching the Jumbos off-guard, and took the early lead on a goal by senior Becca Bruce just 1:53 into the opening period.
"Our defense has been very lax in the first and last five minutes of games," coach Carol Rappoli said. "Too many of our games have been decided in the first and last five minutes."
After the initial rush by the Jumbos' offense, Colby found itself in control of the game for much of the first half. With 8:26 remaining in the period, however, sophomore Elizabeth Hayden was able to break through the Colby defense and fired a shot beyond the reach of Colby goaltender Carrie Torrisi to tie the game at one. The goal marked Tufts' first score of the season and ended a 250-minute scoreless drought.
The second half of play saw the Jumbos offense shut down by an even stingier Colby defense. The White Mules, as a result of their defensive efforts, were able to generate more scoring opportunities. With 17:05 remaining in the second half, Bruce tallied her second goal of the game, a score that proved to be the game winner for the Mules.
Play remained well balanced throughout the remainder of the period as Colby maintained its 2-1 advantage. The White Mules added an insurance goal by freshman Wendy Bonner with 2:32 left to play.
Despite the lopsided result of the game, Colby held only a slight advantage in penalty corners, with eight to the Jumbos' six. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Rufino turned in another solid performance, tallying nine saves on the afternoon.
This was the second time in as many games that the Jumbos have allowed three goals - a defensive lapse that the team hopes to fix.
"It's definitely a problem," Rappoli said. "Any time you allow three goals it's not good. We need to be marking better."
However, the defense has not been the biggest concern so far this season. The Jumbos have scored only one goal through eight halves of play and one overtime. If the team hopes to climb back from the bottom of the NESCAC rankings, it will have to improve its offensive productivity.
"We've been working a lot on both ends of the field." Rappoli said. "We need to start taking advantage of our opportunities and work on converting them."
The next NESCAC opponent for Tufts will be Bates, who sports a 1-3 record in conference play. The team faces a non-conference opponent in Gordon before this, however, a match that Rappoli foresees as a difficult one.
(If results are up, say something about Gordon game, if PPD, keep this)
"We always have tough games against Gordon," she said. "We'll need a very strong defensive effort."
The Jumbos will try to find the fervent defense that has been missing since their first two games, and will also look to generate some offense.
"Gordon is a good team." Rappoli said. "We can't let up just because they're not in the NESCAC."
