Jumbos take four straight victories to start season

Entering the week riding the wave of a big conference win against No. 9 Middlebury and a dominant performance over Endicott, the No. 4 Tufts women's lacrosse team faced off against two non-conference opponents at home this week. With spring break around the corner, Tufts is in mid-season form, jumping out to an early lead to defeat Wheaton College by a score of 11-8 on Monday, then following it up with a 14-2 victory over Keene State. Tufts' record now sits at 4-0 overall.

The game against Keene State was never in doubt for Tufts. Junior tri-captain attack Caroline Ross started off scoring a little over five minutes into the game, which sparked an 8-0 run. During that run, Ross added two more goals while junior midfield Brigid Bowser, in her second game back after sitting out the first two with a concussion, appeared to be in her regular form, darting around defenders to the tune of two goals and one assist.

"It's really nice to be with my team," Bowser said of her return. "Everyone has been really supportive and it's great sliding [back into the starting lineup]."

Keene State would get on the board with 6:32 remaining in the first half when junior attack Emilee Sigely scored off a pass from sophomore midfielder Jenna Bellano. The Jumbos, however, would respond by closing the half with three straight goals, two from sophomore attack Kate Mackin, whose game-high four goals brought her season total to a team-leading 16 on the season.

With the commanding 11-1 lead going into halftime, coach Courtney Farrell pulled senior goalie Rachel Gallimore for first-year Hannah Wiltshire. Junior Emily Morton would also get time in the net to finish the game. Regardless, none of the goalies got much work in, facing a combined five shots (four on goal) while the offense peppered Keene State's sophomore goalkeeper with 35 (26 on goal). Furthermore, the zone ride seemed to be particularly effective -- the Owls were just 7-for-17 on clears -- and the Jumbos dominated on 50-50 balls, winning 16 of the 18.

Aside from giving the Jumbos another notch in the victory column, the game allowed them to test out new schemes and strategies.

"In non-conference games, we like to work on all of our different plays," senior midfielder Lindsey Walker said. "It lets us see if we can execute them as well as other things we might not try in conference games."

Tufts' game against Wheaton on Monday took on a very different atmosphere. Despite starting the game on a 6-1 run, with three goals by Mackin and one each from Bowser, Ross and sophomore midfielder Caroline Kingsley, the Jumbos were unable to put the Lyons away early. Wheaton responded with a 3-1 run that began with just under 10 minutes left in the first half, but first-year midfielder Calie Nowak scored with two minutes remaining to give Tufts an 8-4 lead heading into the half.

Ross brought the lead up to 9-4 a minute into the second half, which was promptly followed by a 10-minute scoring drought for both sides. The game would turn sloppy; the Jumbos' effective ride held the Lyons to just 12-for-21 on clears, and both teams committed 25 turnovers apiece, which was four more than the Jumbos had in the two preview games combined.

Wheaton first-year midfielder Katie Peters ended the dry spell with 18:37 to play, but unassisted goals by Bowser and first-year midfielder Jenn Duffy had Tufts up 11-5 with 13 minutes to play.

The Lyons, however, would not go away quietly. They rallied in the last 10 minutes of the game, scoring three unanswered goals to bring the score to its 11-8 conclusion. The scoring spark, however, came too late, as Tufts was able to slow the game down to hold onto its lead.

Gallimore outperformed her Wheaton counterpart, senior Katy Ananian, making nine saves on 17 shot attempts, while Ananian only saved five of the 16 she faced. The teams were pretty split on hustle plays, with Wheaton gaining the advantage in draw controls, 12-9, while Tufts edged out their opponent on groundballs, 22-16.

While the Jumbos entered the season highly regarded, its opening season win over the Panthers has catapulted them to "team-to-beat" status in the NESCAC. In its second year with Farrell, Tufts seems to have completely bought into its coach's system, whipping the ball around on offense and playing suffocating defense on the other end.

With promising young players playing well alongside established veterans, Tufts looks to continue rolling as it takes on NESCAC foe Colby at Bello Field on Saturday. For now, the Jumbos' goals for the next week is simple.

"Work hard, train hard and get some wins," Walker said after the Wheaton victory.