After a frustrating offensive performance against Babson on Tuesday, the women's soccer team was left ruing a number of missed chances. Against Bates on Saturday, however, that was not a problem.
The Jumbos exploded in the first half for three goals en route to a 3-0 victory over the Bobcats, their second consecutive NESCAC win. It was the most goals Tufts has scored in a game thus far this season, and the result was also a marked difference from the close affairs that most of the Jumbos' games have been, including the 1-0 loss versus Babson.
"If anything it shows that we should have scored on Babson because this team tied Babson," senior co-captain Cara Cadigan said. "This proves we basically can compete with all the teams in the Northeast if we keep our confidence up and play like we did [Saturday]."
The Jumbos have talked about wanting to strike first and not play from behind, and they did just that on Saturday. Sophomore midfielder Alix Michael provided the offense for Tufts early on in the game. She took a chance from 25 yards out and managed to get
the ball into the net despite some traffic up front.
"We went in and Bates was really pumped up, so we wanted to quiet them down and that is always the best way to do it," senior goalkeeper Kate Minnehan said. "I think that we have been waiting for this breakout moment of getting more than two goals and that is what I think was most important of this game."
For Michael, it was the first of two goals on the day, as she became the first Tufts player to score two goals in a game since then-freshman Jamie Love-Nichols did so on Oct. 14th last year at Keene State. Michael's second goal of the day came in the 41st minute when she beat a defender and deposited the ball past Bates sophomore keeper Annie Burns, who was the NESCAC Co-Player of the Week last week. Michael's three goals on the season lead the team.
Tufts dominated the first half and continued to control the pace much of the rest of the game. The Jumbos put up 20 shots in the opening 45 minutes compared to just four for the Bobcats. The offensive onslaught also helped Tufts get 10 corner kicks in the game. The Jumbos would use one of those corners to their advantage in the 10th minute when senior co-captain Whitney Hardy scored the second goal of the game — and her second of the season — by heading in the ball after a scramble up front.
"It was definitely a confidence-builder," Cadigan said. "We know we can do it now, so from this point on it will be building on that."
"I think we just finally have been doing everything that we have been talking about doing and practicing doing," Minnehan added. "It all came together on Saturday."
The Tufts defense was solid and kept the Bobcats from getting any offensive push, though both teams finished with six shots in the second half. On the game, however, Minnehan was forced to make just one save and recorded her fourth shutout of the season.
"I think we kept possession for such a majority of the game it didn't even give their forwards and midfielders time to produce anything," Minnehan said. "While our defense has obviously been very consistent, I think that [in] this game, since we were keeping possession for so much time, it gave them less stuff they had to deal with."
The win brings Tufts' season record to 4-3, but more importantly to 2-2 in the NESCAC. That puts them in a tie with Bowdoin and Wesleyan for fourth in the conference standings, with the Jumbos owning a win over the Cardinals.
Tufts could go a long way to ensuring a spot in the top end of the conference in the next two weeks, as it plays its next four games at home. Those contests will include three games against teams on the lower rung of the NESCAC in Colby, Conn. College and Trinity, who combined have just one conference win this year.
"At this point in the season, it is such a short season that every game matters," Cadigan said. "Every game is important, and we are just trying to win and keep winning until NESCACs."
For now, however, the Jumbos will focus on Wednesday's non-conference match up with Brandeis, the team currently ranked one spot above them at No. 7 in the Div. III New England rankings. Tufts has beaten the Judges four years in a row, including last year's 1-0 victory in Waltham.
"I don't know much about Brandeis, but we always have a good game against them," Minnehan said. "I think we need to go into this game with the same mentality that we went into this weekend and stay focused."
