Coming off a tremendous win against the former No. 1, nationally ranked Middlebury College, the Tufts field hockey team rode that momentum into an offensively dominant win against Roger Williams on Sunday. The Jumbos defeated the Hawks 5–1 Sunday evening at home, remaining undefeated on Ounjian Field so far this season.
Aside from the victory, the team also celebrated their seniors as the regular season approaches its end. Players Claire Gavin, Chloe Brants, Kylie Rosenquest and Kayleigh McDonald were acknowledged prior to the game for their work throughout their four seasons playing for Tufts.
Gavin wrote about the team’s plan against the Hawks in an email to the Daily. “We knew that [Roger Williams] was going to be a super athletic team,” she noted when discussing how the team planned to work against a strong and fast opposing squad. “We emphasized using our passing to be successful,” Gavin added, and there was plenty of success to show for it.
Senior Chloe Brants receives a bouquet during the Jumbos’ Senior Night ceremony on Oct. 27.
The Jumbos started the game off hot, not wasting any time in testing the keeper. Just over five minutes into the game, graduate student midfielder Andrea DelGiudice scored off of a pass from sophomore midfielder Claire Casey, marking her 13th goal of the season.
“This whole season, everyone on the team has been pushing the pace at practice,” Gavin wrote, crediting the high level of competitiveness in each game from start to finish to the team’s preparation beforehand. “Come gamedays, we can fall back on our preparation,” she added, and their preparation appears to have been impeccable this week.
Goals continued to rain down on the opposing net, as the Jumbos tallied two more in the first quarter alone. Sophomore midfielder Reagan Malo followed DelGiudice’s initial goal, and junior defender Gabby Sousa was right behind her with the clock winding down on the quarter.
With a comfortable lead going into just the second quarter, the Jumbos continued their unrelenting offensive campaign. “A huge goal of ours is to not take any team lightly and to play our game,” Gavin wrote, and the Jumbos reflected her words exactly. Out of the gate, several scoring attempts were saved before junior forward Hannah Biccard found a hole, notching her sixth goal this season.
The third quarter didn’t see a change in score, but as the final quarter got underway, the Jumbos continued to display offensive dominance. Biccard scored her second goal of the game to make the score a whopping 5–0. The Hawks would make an attempt to fight back, but they would finish with just one goal at the end of full time in a 5–1 Jumbos win.
Overall, the Jumbos outshot the Hawks 20–4, while only allowing one Hawk penalty corner to their nine.
With four different goal scorers throughout the game, Gavin wrote that she was, “Super proud of the team effort,” as the ball was shared generously throughout the game — along with the plentiful array of goals that came with it.
Just one game remains for Tufts in regular season play. With a 7–2 conference record, the Jumbos are currently ranked third in the NESCAC standings and faced the Polar Bears Tuesday night.
With a series of impressive wins on their resume, including an upset against Middlebury that broke their 43-game win streak, no opponent appears too formidable against the Tufts roster.
“We are all super excited to enter playoffs,” Gavin wrote, as the postseason is fast approaching with the first match in the NESCAC tournament on Saturday. “Each player is focused and trying to get better for the sake of the team,” she added.
The road to the playoffs has carried its ups and downs for the Jumbos, but with a combination of teamwork and talent, they’re in great shape for the postseason ahead.
