The field hockey team has made a habit of defeating its rivals in record-breaking fashion.
In a dramatic overtime contest, the nationally-ranked No. 5 Jumbos defeated the No. 9 Trinity Bantams 2-1 on Sheppard Field Saturday in Hartford, Conn. The win cemented Tufts' reign as No. 1 in the NESCAC for another week with an 8-0 clip and added some extra luster to its perfect 12-0 season. Tufts dropped the fourth place Trinity squad to 11-2 overall and handed the Bantams their first loss in five games.
The first half ended in a deadlock, with neither team converting on its shooting opportunities. Tufts' forwards were successful in drawing penalty corner shots in the circle, but were unable find the back of the net, missing early opportunities in front of the goal. Trinity looked to its forwards for momentum but freshman keeper Marianna Zak aggressively defended the net while Tufts' defenders cleared the circle quickly. Zak played the full 72-plus minutes and recorded six saves.
"In the first half, we had several corners, but we weren't able to finish them," senior tri-captain Tess Jasinski said. "Our shots were going wide of the goal ... play was back-and-forth for much of the half, but key plays by [Zak] slowed down their momentum. [Zak] had one huge save where she dove on a hit to keep the ball out of the net. We saw a great effort from our defenders in this game."
After Trinity's block tackles kept Tufts at bay in the first half, the Jumbos came out much more collected after the intermission. Their smooth passing patterns helped evade Trinity's defenders, and interceptions by Tufts' midfielders helped the squad maintain possession. Tufts' ability to hold onto possession through two-touch passing led to a second half played almost entirely in Trinity's backfield.
The offensive adjustments paid off five minutes into the second half, as sophomore Tamara Brown tapped in a rebound from sophomore Amanda Roberts' initial shot. Tufts outshot Trinity 16-12 and had eight corners to Trinity's five but was only able to convert once in the second half.
"We were frazzled for a while but calmed down and tried to work around them," senior tri-captain Marlee Kutcher said. "[Trinity] had great block tackles and we worked together more in the second half to move around their defenders rather than plow right through them. We also did a great job of stepping in front of defenders to receive passes and passing with lifts over their sticks ... [Roberts] and [Brown's] effort was a perfectly executed passing sequence."
With the clock winding down with under a minute to go, Tufts was more than ready to put the game in the win column. Trinity had other plans though, as a Bantam last-minute breakaway into the circle drew a corner opportunity with no time remaining in regulation. Trinity forward Karli Del Rossi shot on Zak who made a save but was unable to keep the rebound out of the back of the net.
In the overtime period, the Jumbos' second of the season, they stuck to smart passing plays to maintain possession and move into the circle. Similarly to the passing strategy employed in the second half, Brown scored the game-winning goal off of a feed from Roberts. The goal marked Brown's 17th of the year, one shy of the program's single-season record set in 2007 by Ileana Casellas-Katz (LA '08).
"In overtime, we started with possession and initially [Trinity] was doing a good job connecting," Brown said. "Our defense did a good job of being patient and making good block tackles to stop Trinity in its tracks. This helped us generate our attack and from there we had great passing patterns down the field that undoubtedly led to the goal and our win."
Tufts' skill in connecting on passing patterns and creating breakaway opportunities could be attributed to Trinity's AstroTurf field, which is smoother and offers faster game play than traditional fields.
Tufts initially missed shot opportunities while adjusting to the surface but eventually used the field to its advantage as the game progressed. The team's focus on executing clean passing patterns during practice paid off, as the Jumbo passing game was quicker and translated into clear shot opportunities in front of the net.
"Playing on AstroTurf was a huge advantage for our team because it works well for our two-touch passing style," Kutcher said. "However, it took us a while to adjust and we had to get a feel for it. The first part of the game we needed to adjust to the speed of the surface.
"Our two-touch passing was thrown off a little and we ended up passing to opposing players," she continued. "We had trouble on corners with AstroTurf just because the speed of the ball was not something that we were used to. We adjusted well and our game and momentum improved."
Saturday's game marked another record-breaking accomplishment for the Tufts squad. With Brown's goals, the Jumbos increased their total to 53 goals on the year, surpassing the 2007 record of 52 team-goals in a season. If Tufts continues its winning streak against Endicott tomorrow, the team will have tied a 2007 record for most wins in a season at 13. Saturday's victory also extended Tufts' regular-season winning streak to 18 games, as the team finished out 2007 with six straight wins.
Looking ahead, once the Jumbos conclude their contest against the Gulls tomorrow, they will hit the road for a Halloween duel against nationally-ranked No. 2 Bowdoin on Friday. The Polar Bears also sport an AstroTurf field similar to Trinity's.
The Jumbos' historic season is placing them in prime position for NESCAC Championship glory, but the Bowdoin match carries several key implications. A victory will silence any doubts that the Jumbos are the best team in the conference, complete the Jumbos' perfect regular season, net Tufts the regular season league crown and give the squad the right to host the NESCAC Tournament.
"When we face Endicott and Bowdoin [this] week, we need to capitalize on our shooting opportunities and our corners," Kutcher said. "Bowdoin has an AstroTurf field so this game gave us a feel for what it's like to play on that surface again. We might not be as lucky as [Saturday], when we had a lot of shooting opportunities, especially against a strong defensive team like Bowdoin."
"After the win today we are really excited and it's one game closer to finishing at the top of the NESCAC," Jasinski said. "We aren't taking any teams for granted; [Endicott and Bowdoin] are having a great season. But at this point, we just need to recognize that we are a great team and we need to show that we deserve to be on top of the conference."
