The women's lacrosse team won a blowout victory against Keene State last Tuesday, proving that this year's team is poised for a strong season. The Jumbos beat the non-conference Owls 12-5. Sophomore midfielder Brigid Bowser leading the way on offense with four goals and two assists. It was a drastic shift for a Tufts team that was outplayed in a loss to Middlebury last Saturday.
"We really came out ready to play as a team, and our ability to move the ball on offense was a big difference-maker," Bowser said.
Tufts began the game with senior midfielder Eliza Halmo scoring her first of two goals on the day, and Bowser gave Tufts a 2-0 lead with her first goal at just six minutes into the first half.
Keene State senior midfielder Eliza Witherbee put her team on the board, but Bowser answered right back to make the score 3-1 at the 21-minute mark. Keene State's senior goalkeeper Erin Taylor then stymied Tufts' offense for 15 straight minutes, en route to a 13-save performance. However, the Owls' defense struggled to clear the ball, and the Jumbos scored two more goals with five minutes left in the half: another from Bowser, and a second less than a minute later from junior attacker Erin Callahan.
Tufts' smothering defense, along with Keene State's inability to control draws, gave the home team a 5-2 lead going into halftime.
This was Keene State's first game of the season, and it seemed that fatigue was a major factor in its lackluster defense. Coming out of the half, Tufts scored three unanswered goals in nine minutes to take an almost-insurmountable 8-2 lead. At this point, the Jumbos' defense took over.
Keene State only mustered 12 total shots over the entire game, compared to Tufts' 32, which was the primary difference-maker in the final score. Junior defender Emily Wright wreaked havoc on the Keene State attackers, as she forced a game-high seven turnovers. Tufts, as a team, caused 23 turnovers against Keene State, compared to just 14 in their loss to Middlebury on Saturday.
Although the Jumbos' defense was nearly perfect in the second half, Witherbee finally broke through and put the ball in the back of the net to give the Owls some hope and close the deficit to 8-3 with just under 20 minutes to play.
While Bowser led Tufts' attack throughout the early game, at the 15-minute mark, the upperclassmen took over, scoring four goals in under 10 minutes. Senior co-captain Gabby Horner blew by Keene State's defense for her first goal, followed by back-to-back goals from Halmo and junior midfielder Lindsey Walker to give the home team a 12-3 lead with under six minutes left.
Keene State scored two final goals before the end of the game, but the Jumbos still ran away with an easy 12-5 victory.
"Our coach made some great defensive adjustments, like switching between zone and man defense, which I think greatly contributed to our win," sophomore defender Jaymi Cohen said. "Middlebury was a tough loss, but this first win gives us a lot to build off."
Compared to last weekend against Middlebury, Tufts was the dominant side on Bello Field during this game, as the team caused 14 more turnovers and took 20 more shots than Keene State. These two differentials bode well as the season progresses.
While the convincing win gives the Jumbos momentum, it comes as little surprise. Tufts was the clear favorite heading into the matchup. In order to see how talented this year's team truly is, it will need to win key conference games against Colby on March 15 and Trinity College on March 22.
Before those big games, the Jumbos have two more non-conference match-ups to worry about. Right now, Courtney Farrell's first win as Tufts' coach has the team fired up.
"This win over Keene State is going to be the first of many," Bowser said.
On Saturday, the Jumbos will take on Eastern Connecticut State in their first away game of the year.
