On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the women’s soccer team (10–2–1) stepped onto Bello field to face No. 12 Middlebury (7–1–5) on Senior Day in their second-to-last NESCAC game of the season. After a pre-game recognition for their four seniors, the whistle blew and the Jumbos were off with high energy.
“The [senior day] celebrations were the extra bit of motivation to go out there and play hard for our friends, family, teammates and coaches,” senior defender Caroline O’Neill wrote in an email to the Daily.
With some back-and-forth possession in the early minutes, it was evident that this game was going to be competitive. “We knew this was an important game – [Middlebury] was undefeated and we’re trying to fight for a high ranking for the NESCAC tournament,” O’Neill wrote.
After 10 minutes, however, the Jumbos did what they have done in almost every game this season and took an early lead. After a drive from the Jumbos, graduate student forward Nicola Sommers made the score 1–0 when she took advantage of a misplayed pass in the Panthers’ third and powered a shot past the goalkeeper.
“We are really focusing on quickly advancing the ball and breaking lines with quick combinations,” O’Neill wrote about the Jumbos’ preparations for the game, which appeared to pay off quickly with the first goal.
The rest of the first half included promising drives from both teams, but neither were able to finish their chances. The Jumbos ended the half with four shots on goal while the Panthers had only two.
Despite challenges, the Tufts backline was a steady and solid group throughout the half, minimizing Middlebury’s opportunities. “We were super focused on communicating defensively. [Middlebury] switched their formation a few times during the game, so we needed to talk about our marks and switches,” O’Neill stated .
Even with their defensive successes in the first half, the Jumbos had a pep talk prior to the second half. “[Middlebury] is a great team that has a history of coming back in games like this where they are down at half. We knew we needed to up our intensity and finish out the game strong,” O’Neill wrote on the Jumbos’ discussions at halftime.
The second half began with the Jumbos equally as energetic as they were in the first half, but the Panthers also came out with a newfound enthusiasm. Shots from both teams were frequent, but nothing hit the back of the net until the 59th minute when Sommers found her second goal of the game with a neat finish after a through ball from sophomore midfielder Reese Birch.
With the score standing at 2–0, the Panthers grew more frantic and upped their speed of play. Despite the Panthers’ best efforts, sophomore goalkeeper Gigi Edwards and the Jumbos’ backline were able to keep the ball out of their net.
“Defensively we wanted a shutout. As a backline we take a lot of pride in maintaining our shape and limiting shots on goal,” O’Neill wrote.
The Jumbos sealed the deal on their win in the 89th minute when a powerful shot from junior forward Elsi Aires ricocheted off the goalpost, landing at the feet of junior midfielder Aoife O’Reilly. O’Reilly was able to tap the ball into an empty Panthers net. With two minutes left and the score now standing at 3–0, the Panthers had little time to make a comeback and the Jumbos completed the shutout with ease.
Tufts ended the game with 20 shots, 12 being on goal, while the Panthers had 18 shots and nine on goal. Both goalkeepers made nine saves, and both teams ended the game with 12 fouls. The game was competitive and both teams matched the others’ energy, but the Jumbos were able to take advantage of their chances and made their senior day one to remember.
The Jumbos are now 6–2–1 in conference play and have built a six-game win streak with two games remaining in their season before playoffs begin. They first take on Bridgewater State University at Bello Field later today, before ending their season with their last NESCAC game away versus Bowdoin on Tuesday, Oct. 29.
“The past week was great for our team’s confidence knowing that we can compete and beat the top teams in the league and the country. It’s a great place to be mentally heading into our last few regular season games and into the postseason,” O’Neill wrote.
