Tufts women’s soccer traveled to New York last weekend to compete against Hamilton College at Love Field in their fourth NESCAC game of the season. Going into the game with a record of 3–1, and 2–1 in division play, the Jumbos were looking for another win.
“Hamilton is a big competitor for us because we actually haven’t beaten them in five years,” sophomore goalkeeper Gigi Edwards said. She noted how the game was especially important for the seniors and fifth-years.
Play began with the Jumbos putting heavy pressure on the Continentals’ defense. Despite the Continentals clearing many of the Jumbos’ early opportunities, the Jumbos were able to take an early lead only three minutes into the match when sophomore midfielder Emily Nicholas powered a shot past the Continentals’ goalkeeper from outside the penalty box for her first goal of the season. Junior forward Elsi Aires got the assist.
However, the Continentals did not lose momentum. After shots on goal from both teams, Continentals forward Isabel Harvey was able to take advantage of a counterattack in the 13th minute, breaking through the Tufts defense and just managing to put the ball past an encroaching Edwards.
The Jumbos didn’t let up in their attacks and were eventually rewarded when, in the Continentals’ penalty box, a misdirected header fell at the feet of Nicholas, who was able to slot it past the goalkeeper for her second goal of the match. The Jumbos’ defense was able to hold the Continentals off for the rest of the first half, ending the 45-minute period at 2–1.
Even with the lead, the Jumbos were still looking to make positive changes. After a tiring first half, they hoped to provide some relief for their defensive line. “I think in the first half, especially towards the end, they were defending us very well … and we needed to do a better job at maintaining possession because I think we played defense for a big portion of the game,” Edwards said. “At halftime, we were looking to possess the ball more, which gives our defenders a break and a chance to recover.”
The second half began similarly to the first. Both teams had opportunities, but none played out until in the 59th minute when a hard tackle from the Jumbos defense led to a Continentals penalty kick. Continentals forward Olivia Zubarik stepped up and, sending the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal, tied the game up.
With a 2–2 score, the Jumbos upped the pressure as the match neared its end. “In the last 15 minutes, we kind of turned on a second gear, and were like, ‘We want to win this.’ In those last 15 minutes we had more chances, and so I think our mentality in the last little portion of the game was a lot better,” Edwards said. Despite their last efforts, the match ended in a tie.
While the Jumbos had 11 shots on goal compared to only six from the Continentals, Edwards expressed that the Jumbos were not pleased with the scoreline. “It wasn’t the outcome we really expected or that we wanted,” Edwards said. “I think we just didn’t do a super good job adapting to their style of play and being able to come up with new solutions,” she said.
Besides shots on goal, the Jumbos also had other positive takeaways from their match. “I think there were certain points throughout the game that we were able to switch the ball very well, and when we did so, we had a lot of space. If we can continue to find those chances of playing through and switching the field when we have the opportunity to do so, I think that creates a lot of opportunities for us,” Edwards said.
Now standing at a 3–1–1 record, the Jumbos are still feeling good about their season. “I’m very confident in our ability … to bounce back after we don’t play the game that we expect,” Edwards said as she was reminded of their 2–1 loss against NESCAC competitor Williams College. “For example, [at] Williams two weeks ago, we did not get the outcome we wanted, and we were able to bounce back in practice and working hard on film to play a really good two games against Colby [College] and [Connecticut College]. Looking forward, we’ve already been talking about how it wasn’t what we wanted to do, and how we need to get better at building out of the back and … getting creative in terms of how we move the ball.”
Tufts has road games at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday and then at Wesleyan University on Saturday. Both are important matches for the team. “[The MIT and Wesleyan games] will kind of be tellers as to what kind of team we have this season. I’m fully confident that we’re going to work really hard and hopefully go into those games with the right mindset and compete,” Edwards said.
