The women's soccer team moved to 2-0 on the season with an impressive 2-0 victory over Conn. College Saturday in a home game the Jumbos dominated from the get-go.
While the first half ended scoreless, it was only a matter of time before the Jumbos' attack grabbed control of the game. After a back-and-forth first-half battle, Tufts dominated possession of the ball in the second, constantly pressuring the Conn. College goal.
"It's really hard to play against a team when you seem to never have the ball," Conn. College assistant coach Erin Kwiatkowski said. "The strength of the Jumbo team seems to be their strong group of forwards."
The forwards were active all day long for the Jumbo offense: The scoreless draw in the first half didn't mean that there weren't chances, as Tufts had many close calls including a laser beam off the crossbar from junior Fanna Gamal.
After several misses, the Jumbos finally scored in the 55th minute on a goal from junior tri-captain Cara Cadigan, who fired a rocket from just inside the box to beat the Camels' sprawling goalie, junior Jenna Ross, to the upper left corner.
The Jumbos continued to press the Camels' defense and were rewarded in the 85th minute with an insurance goal when freshman Alyssa Von Puttkammer redirected a no-look pass from Gamal into the back of the net.
Tufts' goalies — sophomore Hannah Jacobs and junior Kate Minnehan — continued their perfect season in an all-around strong performance from the defensive unit, which limited the Conn. College offense to just one shot in 90 minutes.
"It's nice to go to 2-0 in the tough NESCAC, but we still have things left to prove," coach Martha Whiting said. "We have a young team here but no real weaknesses. The freshman class is strong this year and as a team, I think we're only going to get better. I am very excited about where this team can go.
"We can't get too up on ourselves yet," she continued. "The season has just started and we have some big games coming up, but I'm going to enjoy this victory for now."
The win marked Tufts' sixth straight victory over the Camels; Conn. College's last victory over the Jumbos occurred in 2002 by a 1-0 margin.
While the Jumbos' 2-0 start is encouraging, they refuse to get complacent, as a competitive schedule awaits them.
"We have been working really hard at practice," senior tri-captain Maya Shoham said. "And Martha has done a good job of working with us to get our systems right."
Next up for the Jumbos is its annual non-conference game against regional powerhouse Wheaton on Wednesday. The Lyons are currently ranked first in New England, boast an 8-1 record and have tallied 16 goals in their last four games while surrendering just three goals during that span.
"This will be a really tough game," junior Ali Maxwell said. "Wheaton is always good and we look forward to proving ourselves against them. It's like Wheaton is the New York Yankees of women's soccer, and we just want to see where we measure up right now."
Non-conference games, especially against elite teams like Wheaton, can be critical, as they go a long way toward determining bids to the NCAA Tournament at the end of the year. The Jumbos last defeated Wheaton 3-2 in a home match in 2005.
"We just have to keep playing our game and believe in ourselves," Shoham said. "We have to possess the ball, which is one of our strengths. We have a long history with Wheaton and have always had competitive games with them. We also can't afford to miss the chances we've been missing so far. We need to bury our opportunities."
