In all the mayhem of the Homecoming festivities on Saturday, the women's soccer team kept its focus and was rewarded with a 1-0 win over NESCAC rival Bates.
The team stymied the Bobcats' offense all day long, and a lone goal was all the Jumbos needed to earn their first NESCAC win and improve to a 2-2-2 record on the season. For the Bobcats, the loss came on the heels of a huge 5-0 blowout win over non-league Babson on Thursday, and dropped Bates to 5-2 overall (2-2 NESCAC).
The win was a big one, as the Bobcats are one of the team's biggest rivals. Not only were the Jumbos able to come out on top, but they dominated the Bobcats both offensively and defensively to defend Kraft Field and deliver a win to the Homecoming crowd.
The two teams battled fiercely for most of the game, as the defending NESCAC champions played the home Jumbos to a stalemate at the half. Tufts got ahead in the 67th minute, when sophomore Abby Werner fed a perfect pass to junior Martha Furtek, who put it past Bates sophomore keeper Mia Lidofsky for her third goal of the season. The single goal proved to be all the Jumbos would need, as the rest of the game remained uneventful.
The Tufts backfield blanked an offense that had scored nine goals in its previous two games, shut down senior Kim Alexander, whose six goals this season are tied for best in the NESCAC, and handed Bates its first shutout since the NCAA regional game last November.
"The defense played great," senior tri-captain Kim Harrington said. "Bates has a very explosive offense, and [the defense] did a great job containing them. Bates has scored a lot of goals thus far, so it was great getting a shut out."
Seven saves from senior tri-captain Annie Ross in goal gave the Jumbos their third shutout of the season in six games.
While the defense held strong, the offense forced Lidofsky to keep her team in the game. The Jumbos rocketed 10 shots towards the Bates goal, three of which came from Furtek, who has scored in each of the team's past three games.
"Martha has really stepped it up for us in the past couple of games which is great," Harrington said. "The offense did a great job pressuring their defense by taking a lot of quality shots on goal."
The Tufts offense out-shot the Bobcats 16-13 and had the advantage in corner kicks as well, racking up six to Bates' four. For a team that struggled offensively in the beginning of the season, these quality chances were a welcome sign. The Jumbos have now scored in four consecutive games and continue to build upon their offensive momentum.
"This was a huge game for us," Harrington said. "It's definitely a confidence-builder. We know we are a good team, and now we are starting to win games."
And the Jumbos' recently improved results are a promising sign as they approach a stretch of key league games. After Wednesday's bout with non-conference Brandeis, three consecutive games against NESCAC opponents Bowdoin, Wesleyan and Trinity await the surging Jumbos.
Tufts is currently sixth in the NESCAC but is looking to move up in the standings with five NESCAC games still remaining.
"We played hard and got the win," Ross said. "But I know we can play better, so we will keep on working hard to play at the level we know we can play at."
The Jumbos will continue to work on keeping their intensity level up for the entire game, and making the most of their possessions by taking more and more quality shots on goal.
"We have spurts of really good play," Harrington said. "Now we just need to work on maintaining that intensity for the entire game."
Ross agreed with Harrington and notes there is still a lot of room for improvement.
"One of the things I am excited about is that we won, and we didn't necessarily play our best soccer," Ross said. "There is still room for improvement."
