After entering the weekend well rested and with high expectations, the women's soccer team had a mixed bag of results. Though Tufts failed to score a goal in either of its two games, the Jumbos did follow up a 2-0 loss to No. 6 Amherst with a 0-0 draw against Bates in their first point-yielding NESCAC result of the 2012 season.
Sunday's game against the Bobcats was played in rainy conditions, forcing it off Kraft Field and onto the turf of Bello. Both teams struggled to get comfortable on the slick field early on, leading to a sloppy first half.
"This weekend was really rough conditions-wise," sophomore midfielder Nikki Blank said. "Everything was really wet and slick, and we were playing on turf, which isn't our normal thing. So I think in the first half we took a while to adjust to that, and we were playing a few balls long."
Less than a minute in, Bates senior midfielder Sam Rose found space and was able to force junior keeper Kristin Wright into a save. It would be the goalie's only work in the opening 45, the result of a resolute performance from her backline.
"We're really taking care of business defensively," Wright said. "I definitely think we're getting there."
Freshman forward Allie Weiller had the Jumbos' best chance of the first half. With time in the box she beat the Bates keeper, only to be kept out by the post. The Jumbos managed a couple more shots, but nothing to test the junior Anabel Schmelz.
In the second half, things began to pick up on both sides of the ball. Tufts outshot Bates 8-6 in the half, but after an early chance from Tufts that missed just wide Bates controlled the action. It looked dire for Tufts in the 84th minute when junior forward Jaimie Cappucci was through on goal for Bates. But Wright dove low to her right to parry the blast and the rebound eventually fell harmlessly into her hands.
The overtime period was a true test, as both teams were playing their second match in as many days. Weiller and Cappucci both made opportunities for themselves, but in the end, neither truly threatened to break the tie. The game ended 0-0, giving Tufts its first point in NESCAC play and bumping the team out of a last play tie with Conn. College. Though Tufts has only scored two goals in its last eight games, the Jumbos currently sit just three points outside of NESCAC tournament status.
On Saturday, buoyed by a sizable Homecoming crowd, Tufts came out ready to play against nationally-ranked Amherst. The Jumbos hung with the Lord Jeffs for much of the first half and came dangerously close to taking the lead in the 15th minute, when Blank found herself in space and slammed one just off the post.
"It was the best we played all season. We were all pretty stoked with how we were playing," Blank said. "We were definitely playing better than they were."
But it all came undone for the Jumbos in the 39th minute, when a miscommunication led to a momentum-sapping own goal.
"It was a really unfortunate circumstance," Wright said. "The ball came in kind of funky, and we didn't really get the clear that we wanted. It bounced off of [sophomore defender] Catharine [Greer] kind of strangely, and it was just kind of a freak of nature thing."
Still, Tufts continued to push until the halftime whistle, launching two more shots and forcing freshman keeper Holly Burwick into her only save of the day. But the Jumbos remained confident going into the break.
In the second half, Amherst came out looking to put Tufts away. The Lord Jeffs sent a warning shot when they hit the crossbar in the 47th minute, but got their payoff in the 61st when freshman Megan Kim slipped through the defense and slotted a shot into the corner of the net, all but putting the game away.
"Amherst definitely stepped up a bit from how they were playing in the first half," Wright said. "But I think we were still definitely coming out hard and looking for shots. We just had one or two defensive breakdowns."
The Jumbos continued to push, led by Blank, who finished the game with four shots and felt comfortable throughout.
"Our forwards did a really good job of dropping off the ball," Blank said. "We worked a lot on that in practice last week, just creating space behind their middies and ripping a shot whenever you can."
But in the end, Tufts failed to break down the Amherst defense, falling 2-0 for its fifth consecutive NESCAC loss at the time..
The Jumbos will need to build quickly on the Bates result, with only four conference games and two non-conference games left to play. They will have a chance to figure some things out on Wednesday when they host Suffolk before traveling to NESCAC bottom-dweller Conn. College on Saturday for a game that is seemingly a must-win if Tufts hopes to make the NESCAC tournament. As the season passes its halfway point, the Jumbos will look to start anew.
"[Coach] Martha Whiting put it really well when she said 'Bates is the start of our new season,'" Blank said. "We have a chance to take it to them, and we're really looking forward to this Suffolk game to get our feet underneath us and get going from there."
