The No. 4 Tufts women’s lacrosse team broke their undefeated streak this season with a 15–17 loss to No. 7 Wesleyan University on Saturday. The Jumbos and the Cardinals held the score even throughout the first half, with no team ever gaining more than a two-goal advantage. In the third quarter, Tufts pulled away, leading 15–11 going into the fourth quarter. But during the fourth quarter, Wesleyan was able to make up their four-goal deficit, coming back to beat Tufts by two.
This was a stark contrast to the rest of their games this season; before this, along with being undefeated, the Jumbos had won by eight or more goals in all but one game this season. Junior attacker Margie Carden explained that the loss against Wesleyan could act as a wake-up call to improve parts of the team’s game that have been overlooked so far.
“I think the loss is fine if we can learn from it and really focus in on a couple of turnovers and things that we've been getting away with the last couple of games against weaker opponents,” Carden said. “We definitely have been making some mistakes in these last three or four games. I think [when we’re] playing a more competitive team that's very skilled they're going to capitalize on those mistakes, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Sophomore attacker Allie Zorn explained that Wesleyan’s energy made them a difficult opponent, especially in the fourth quarter.
“They definitely came out with a lot of emotion. It was their senior day. We ended their season last year. I think they were really fired up to play us,” Zorn said. “I think we let their energy get the best of us in the end.”
Despite the loss, Tufts demonstrated their strong skills on both sides of the ball. They also had an especially strong third quarter, scoring four points to Wesleyan’s two.
“I think there were definitely some good plays on attack and some big defensive stops, but it wasn’t constant throughout the whole game, which is where I think things went downhill,” Carden said.
The Tufts offense was impressive in scoring, with contributions from players up and down the roster. Their attackers, through a variety of playing styles, were able to break through the Wesleyan defense.
“This year we have a really deep team which is hard to play against,” sophomore midfielder Elsa Schutt wrote in an email to the Daily. “Because there are so many threats on the field, it makes it really hard to scout or whittle us down to a couple players.”
The defense also played a strong game, causing 10 turnovers and scooping up 16 ground balls against Wesleyan’s 11.
Along with that, the Jumbos won 15 draw controls, led by junior midfielder Genna Gibbons’ six.
“I also think the draw is a huge part of the game that we have worked really hard to improve this season,” Shutt wrote. “I think we did a great job of adjusting on that from the first to the second half. The draw has been an area we have been really dominant on this season.”
Despite the high points of their game, Tufts struggled in the fourth quarter, while Wesleyan went on a 6–0 run to win the game. Tufts is usually a good enough team to make up for a bad quarter, but against highly ranked teams like Wesleyan, that’s not always possible. In Tufts' game against No. 1 Middlebury College on Saturday, it will be even more important to play strong defense throughout the whole game.
“One thing we’ve been struggling with all season is putting a full game together,” Carden said. “We’re working on trying to put those full four quarters together. Especially against a team like Middlebury, if we have a quarter that’s a little bit off, or we start to make some mistakes, we're going to get down quickly.”
Schutt explained that, despite the loss, the challenge presented by Wesleyan was an important moment of growth for the team. In preparation for the postseason, as well as other difficult NESCAC matchups, it’s important for Tufts to play against high-caliber teams.
“I think they were a great opponent to show the areas where we can continue to improve both offensively and defensively,” Schutt wrote. “We have big goals for the season, so to get challenged mid-season was nothing but beneficial. Despite the outcome, it didn't change the confidence we have in each other and the excitement for the rest of the season.”
The Jumbos will use this game to learn from and improve for the rest of the season, starting with their game against Bates College later today.
“I think it's easy, when you're undefeated, to think everything's going great, and you don't really address any underlying issues,” Carden said. “So I think this kind of makes us take a step back and realize we're not invincible.”
