The women's lacrosse team did not give Gordon a fighting chance on Tuesday afternoon, silencing the Fighting Scots by a 19-10 margin in non-conference action to record its fourth-straight win and keep pace with NESCAC co-leader Colby.
Although the final score was somewhat titled in the Jumbos' favor, it was the Scots who came out of the game firing hardest, taking a 3-2 lead in just over five minutes into the contest. But the nationally ranked No. 7 Jumbos soon overcame their slow start, and after reclaiming the lead with two straight free position goals from junior Jenna Abelli, they never looked back.
Including Abelli's two goals, the Jumbos went on a seven-goal spree, building up a commanding 9-3 lead on the Scots before the period was halfway over. It wasn't until 7:35 left to play in the half that Gordon found the net again when junior Katie Knaus registered her first of three goals to make it a 9-4 game.
Tufts continued to barrage Gordon senior Chyanne Wilson, who tallied 13 saves on the day, but the Jumbos' offense was simply too overwhelming for the goaltender to save her squad. Displaying total domination of ball possession, the Jumbos continued to crash the net and extended their lead to 10-4 with 4:13 to go in the half on a goal by freshman Casey Egan. In a matter of 52 seconds, the Jumbos tacked on three goals, two of which came from freshman Kelly Hyland, to take a 13-4 lead. Hyland scored again with 33 seconds remaining and the Jumbos surged into the break with a 14-5 lead.
With the exception of a slow first few minutes, the Jumbos executed the first half nearly flawlessly. They outshot the Scots 27-11, caused 14 turnovers and won the ground ball battle 27-19. Key to their successful offensive effort was also a dominant performance in the faceoff circle, where Abelli led the team with four draw controls as the Jumbos took 11 of 20 first half draws and 18 of 31 on the game.
"We were just the more talented team," coach Carol Rappoli said.
One of the major first-half highlights for the Jumbos was a three-goal effort by Hyland, who supplied five goals on the game for the best performance of her career. Other key contributors were Abelli, who registered four goals in addition to her strong effort on the draw, and senior Maya Shoham, who found the back of the net three times.
After Hyland got the Jumbos going in the second half with her fourth goal 1:33 in, the Scots came out of the gate fast, as Knaus and senior Danielle Zorn notched back-to-back goals to cut the lead to 15-7. Yet just as they did the first half, the Jumbos struck back with another Abelli goal soon after, and though Knaus added her third tally in response a few minutes later, the Jumbos went on another three-goal spurt to take a 19-8 lead.
"On attack we got off to a slow start, but we started playing our game and got back our composure," Hyland said.
The game was a picture of two completely contrasting styles of play. Tufts' offense thrived on a quick pace that the Gordon defense had a lot of difficulty shutting down. Taking control of the rock on many of the draws, the Jumbos showed great control and penetrated the Scots' zone quickly with long passes and smart feeds. Once down low, the Jumbos moved the ball swiftly and efficiently, finding open players for point-blank opportunities that they more often than not converted into goals.
Gordon, on the other hand, opted more to set up shop behind the Jumbos' goal and try to feed players out front. The strategy worked on a few occasions, resulting in Zorn's goal at 26:36 of the second half. But the stifling Tufts defense did not leave many options open, forcing the ball out to the perimeter for most of the game and preventing many good opportunities on the goal. In the end, the Jumbos outshot the Scots 38-22, with sophomore Sara Bloom recording the win for the Jumbos with four saves in a little over 20 minutes of play and freshman Alexis Germain posting another three in relief.
The lopsided affair did not come as a surprise, as the Jumbos are 8-1 on the season and at 5-1 in the NESCAC are currently tied for first in the conference with Colby, who also won its out-of-league tilt against Plymouth State in a 21-0 shellacking of the Panthers yesterday. Despite being the favorite, however, the Jumbos did not take the win for granted.
"We don't take any game lightly," Rappoli said. "If you do that, you'll be crying in the parking lot.
"Today's game was all about making sure we played our game," Rappoli continued. "We are in the most competitive league in the country. We want to try to find games that will be competitive to help keep us tuned up."
Staying sharp will definitely be important for the Jumbos, as they have an important conference matchup against third-place Middlebury (5-2, 4-1) slated for this Saturday at home.
Between then and now, though, the Jumbos will also take on Wheaton College in another non-conference contest tomorrow afternoon, where they will again be the favorite against the 5-4 Lyons. Wheaton most recently lost to Amherst College 14-6, a team that Tufts defeated to open up its season, 11-9.
