The women's lacrosse team's five-game winning streak earlier this year saw the team catapult up the NESCAC standings. After two consecutive blowout wins against non-conference opponents earlier last week, the team dominated Conn. College Saturday 13-7 on the road; the Jumbos are on their way to another hot stretch heading into the final portion of the season.
Though the Camels brought a 0-6 conference record into the matchup, Conn. College was far from a pushover. The team had already pushed Amherst to overtime in conference play, and fell by only one goal to Bowdoin. The Jumbos could not have afforded to take the Camels lightly.
"We have the same warmup for every game, and we always want to try to remain focused," junior attackman Lara Kozin said. "We don't really care who we're playing; we just have to stay composed and play hard, no matter who the opponent is."
Tufts did not hesitate as the game began, immediately going for the knockout punch by netting five unanswered goals in the first ten minutes of play, including two each from juniors Steph Perez, an attackman, and Casey Egan, a midfielder. And although Conn. College responded with three goals of its own, Tufts added three more late, heading into halftime with a commanding 9-3 advantage.
"We know that we can't let the other team go on runs," freshman attackman Gabby Horner said. "If they score a couple goals, the attack knows that we have to respond immediately; we can't just let them keep going. If they score, we just shake it off and know that we have to get the next goal."
All through the second half, Tufts kept a healthy margin on the scoreboard. Senior midfielder Abby Hill scored just 16 seconds into the half to give Conn. College some life, but Tufts quickly scored the next three goals, pushing its lead to 12-4 and effectively putting the game away.
The Jumbos were boosted by more stellar performances from their stars, with Perez and sophomore attackman Kerry Eaton both netting four goals apiece.
But without a doubt the standout performer was once again junior attackman Lara Kozin, who added to her team-leading points total with two goals and five assists.
"Lara is just an amazing player," Horner said. "She's really a team player, so you know that if you make the right cut, you'll get the ball. If she doesn't have the run, she'll always look to pass it, and she has just played amazing these last few games."
Kozin, who was coming off a seven-assist performance against Endicott on April 14 that broke the Tufts record for assists in a game, now has 25 goals and 29 assists on the season. Those marks are good for the NESCAC lead in points and assists.
Kozin has undoubtedly been the focal point of a Tufts offense, which has scored at least 10 goals in all but one game this season, and her ability to find her teammates in the offensive zone has only improved game by game.
"As the season progresses, you start to feel more and more comfortable with how your teammates play," Kozin said. "You know when they are going to make a move, and you can really start to feed off others on the attack."
The Jumbos will have little time to savor the victory, as they will hit the road on Thursday for a matchup with non-conference opponent Wheaton. The most important upcoming matchups, though, will undoubtedly be the last two games of the season, against Middlebury and Bowdoin at home. All three squads will be looking to improve their seeding for the NESCAC tournament.
"We're trying to get better and better," Kozin said. "As long as we come out hard and stay focused, stick to our fundamentals and stick to playing smart, we can go really far this season."
