For the field hockey team, the goals just keep on coming.
In their second dominant performance in as many games, the nationally-ranked No. 14 Jumbos took down Wellesley College 6-1 at Bello Field Wednesday for Tufts' first win over the Blue since 2004. Coupled with their 10-1 opening-day victory over Wesleyan Saturday, the Jumbos have now tallied a whopping 16 goals over their first two games.
"Last year, it felt like we would sometimes get too comfortable when we were only up by one goal," senior tri-captain Marlee Kutcher said. "Now it's a bit more like we're always looking to score, no matter the situation."
Once again, Tufts' forward line was firing on all cylinders, as junior Michelle Kelly and freshman Lindsay Griffith led the way with two goals apiece, while junior Amanda Russo added three assists. In all, the Jumbos put up 23 shots compared to just three from Wellesley.
"We just kept pushing and pushing on offense," Kelly said. "We knew it was a big game coming into today, so we were a little amped up. Once we got that first corner goal it got us rolling and we never looked back."
For the last three years, the field hockey team has been curiously stymied by Wellesley. Last year, the Jumbos took a devastating 3-2 overtime loss at the hands of the Blue, despite outpacing the team 25-10 in shots and 19-6 in penalty-corner opportunities.
"We felt so frustrated by those past three losses, so getting a win today was extra special," Kutcher said. "It was also nice because it's the beginning of the season, and it will be a huge confidence boost for us. In the past, those losses were tough because it immediately started our season off on the wrong foot."
"There has definitely been a mental aspect to those tough Wellesley losses over the past couple years," coach Tina McDavitt said. "It really has felt like we've always been in those games, but we just couldn't get a win on the scoreboard. Last year we even took them to OT, but again, we just couldn't put it together. In finally beating them [Wednesday,] we learned a lot about our depth and composure, and it will now allow us to re-focus on our goals for the rest of this season."
Russo had a hand in the early scoring, feeding Kutcher and Kelly for Tufts' first two scores. The Jumbos took that 2-0 lead into the 33rd minute, when sophomore forward Tamara Brown notched her fourth goal of the season and sent Tufts into halftime with a comfortable three-goal cushion.
Russo and Kelly teamed up again in the second half, putting the Jumbos up by four. Of Russo's team-leading five assists this season, four have gone to Kelly for goals.
"So far this year [Russo] has been very unselfish and she has done a great job of setting up girls like [Michelle] for some nice goals," McDavitt said. "They've been working real well in practice and it's exciting that it has paid off already."
"The way she draws out the opposing players and then works the ball to her teammates is huge for our offense," Kelly said. "She even can sometimes get the goalie to come out of the goal and then she will pass it by her to assist on a goal."
Griffith then got into the act, sandwiching the first two goals of her career around Wellesley's lone tally. With Griffith and Brown getting on the scoreboard over the first two games and freshman goalkeeper Marianna Zak and sophomore goalkeeper Katie Hyder splitting the time so far in cage, the team has enjoyed a nice boost from its underclassmen.
"I think [our youth] is huge for our program," McDavitt said. "It's gotten to the point where we don't have to spend as much time with the younger girls in practice early on trying to acclimate them to the college game. When we're not forced to just rely on solely upperclassmen, we are capable of being much more successful."
The Jumbos will next take the field tomorrow, when they host a NESCAC showdown against the Colby Mules.
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