When push comes to shove, the women's soccer team gets the job done.
Coming into Saturday's match-up against conference-rival Williams, the Jumbos needed a win to keep their hopes of a second-place NESCAC finish alive. They got just that, edging Williams 1-0 for their first win over the Ephs since 2002 and securing home-field advantage in the first round of the league tournament. The win improved Tufts to 7-3-2 overall, and 5-1-2 in conference play.
The first half of the game was filled with close calls, as both the Jumbos and the Ephs came within inches of scoring. For Williams, it was sophomore Gabrielle Woodson who missed the chance to put the Ephs ahead, as her shot late in the first half rocketed just over the net. The Jumbos answered with a thriller of their own, as senior tri-captain Kim Harrington launched a shot that hit the right post, just missing an opportunity for Tufts to take the lead.
"In the first half, we came out with a lot of intensity," junior Joelle Emery said. "We were very fired up, which is something that we've been working on; however, we didn't possess the ball as well as we could, even though we were playing very hard."
The game became a defensive struggle, as neither team landed a single shot on goal in the run of play for the entire game. Both teams managed a total of seven shots apiece on the day. The game's only goal came three minutes into the second half, when Emery fired the ball past the Ephs' freshman goalkeeper, Lauren Sinnenberg, on a penalty kick.
"Joelle went up to the penalty kick ball and just slammed it home," senior tri-captain goalkeeper Annie Ross said. "It was a beautiful thing."
The win was a refreshing one for the Jumbos, who were fresh off of a tough loss on Wednesday to the non-conference Keene State Owls. After snapping its six game winning streak, Tufts needed a win this weekend to get back on track.
"I am very happy with how the team played," Ross said. "Williams is a good team, but we played tough. Our defense was solid, our offense was aggressive, and we challenged them all over the field."
Junior Martha Furtek, junior Lauren Fedore and freshman Whitney Hardy turned on the offense for their team in the second half.
"Williams was good at not letting our forwards turn," Ross said. "But we adjusted and started doing a lot of one-two passing which led to a lot of chances."
"We really had our best moments when we won and possessed the ball in the middle of the field," Emery added. "It was great when we played it on the ground to our wide players, who we felt could take on their outside midfielders and defenders."
The Jumbo defense rebounded after Wednesday's loss to record its fifth shutout of the season. Ross finished with four saves, while her Williams counterpart, Sinnenberg, notched four as well.
As the win handed Tufts a stronghold on second place in the conference, the outcome of next weekend's game against Conn. College will help determine its first-round opponent in the tournament, which begins on Oct. 29.
Amherst clinched the top seed in the league with a win on Saturday, while the Ephs dropped to fourth place with their loss to Tufts. Middlebury sits in third place with a 5-2-1 record.
Bowdoin and Wesleyan are scheduled to play next Saturday with the winner securing a seventh-place finish and likely a trip to Somerville on Sunday. If the Jumbos lose on Saturday and finish in third place, they will host either Colby or Bates, who face off next Saturday as well.
