FIELD HOCKEY | Undefeated Jumbos blank Corsairs in most lopsided win of year

    The Tufts field hockey team routed the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs, stepping off Bello Field Wednesday with its undefeated record intact — and recording its second shutout in a row with a 4-0 win, its greatest margin of victory in the still-young season.
    Going head-to-head with their unranked non-conference foe, the nationally ranked No. 3 Jumbos faced little difficulty in dismantling a lackluster offensive team. The Corsairs, who have gone 1-3 on the road this season, were seemingly easy pickings for the undefeated Tufts squad. Capitalizing on the Corsairs' unfamiliarity with playing on artificial turf, the Jumbos immediately took control of the pace of play while UMass Dartmouth scrambled to adjust to the field.
    "UMass played their last three games on grass, and this was their first time in a while playing on turf," junior midfielder Tamara Brown said. "We took advantage of that, and we controlled the pace of the game and made plays inside the circle which all contributed to the shutout."
    With much of the first half played deep inside Corsair territory, the Tufts offensive unit fired off an impressive 24 shots, more than its total number of first-half shots in matches against Middlebury and Amherst combined.
    While the Jumbo offense didn't cash in on every subsequent shot opportunity, it didn't take long for Brown to put Tufts on the board, scoring on the first shot of the game just over a minute into play off of a feed from senior co-captain Amanda Russo. Accounting for roughly a quarter of Tufts' shots by the final whistle, Brown notched a second goal 25 minutes later with help coming from Russo once again.
    Thanks to the two scoring drives, Brown ascended to second in program history with 80 career points. Though acknowledging the gravity of the distinction, Brown remains team-oriented in viewing her individual success.
    "It's cool, but I care much more about the team," said Brown, who set Tufts' single-season scoring record last year. "Without the team, I wouldn't be here. As long as we're winning and all playing our best, I'm happy, and the individual accomplishments become secondary."
    By controlling possession for the remainder of the match, the Tufts squad was able to showcase its breadth of talent, ranging from first-year forwards to its veteran offensive playmakers. With minutes remaining in the first half, Brown connected with junior Melissa Burke to mark her first goal of the season. Following several substitutions, freshman forward Kerry Eaton scored on a solo effort to put the Corsairs on ice with less than three minutes left in regulation. The goal represents the first of the season from the freshman class.
    "Our offensive line clicked today," senior co-captain Margi Scholtes said. "Our passes connected and communication was open across the field. We had scorers from across the lineup, which reflects our depth and what we are capable of doing on the field."
    In all, Tufts outshot UMass by a margin of 42-6. The Jumbos may have led by a wider margin if it were not for the disciplined UMass senior goalie Seana Golden, who fended off the Tufts offense with 17 saves on the day. Despite earning a shutout victory, the Jumbos acknowledge that there is always room for improvement.
    "The pattern we're seeing over the last four games is that we are getting a lot of shots on goal, but they're not ending in goals," Brown explained. "This problem lies in being able to connect with other players, but hopefully that will come with time and practice.
    "UMass' goalie was really good," she continued. "Even though not all our shots ended in goals, it's great that we have a strong enough offense to be able to have that many shots in the first place, and it's something we can improve on over the course of the season."
    Behind the successful offense was an equally tenacious defense. Led by sophomore keeper Marianna Zak in the first half and junior goalie Katie Hyder in the second, the Tufts squad limited the Corsairs' offensive options, holding them to two shots on goal. In all, Zak and Hyder made a save apiece, with Hyder making her first appearance of the season in the net.
    "UMass Dartmouth had really good players individually," Scholtes said. "They like to play long balls, so we had to adjust defensively, shifting our line back 10 to 15 yards to make sure we didn't let them get behind us. They were relentless, so we had to be alert; they never backed down."
    Holding the Corsairs to just two penalty corners on the day, a season best, the Jumbos contained UMass' scoring opportunities from inside the circle. For a team that has seen games decided on penalty corners in past seasons, the Jumbos know the importance of keeping their opponents at bay by playing a clean game.
    "Defensively, we were really strong, and we allowed just a few defensive corners against us," Scholtes said. "We've focused on that a lot this season, limiting defensive corner opportunities for our opponents, because those corners can lead to goals. Basically, our defenders made sure to keep the ball on their stick so that UMass' defense would have to start hacking for the ball, in which case a foul would be called against them."
    As just one of three conference teams ranked within the top 10 of the National Field Hockey Coaches  Association Coaches Poll — and the top-ranked among the pack — the Jumbos have distinguished themselves as a NESCAC front-runner this season. With a blend of non-conference and relatively weak NESCAC opponents ahead in the weeks to come, Tufts' schedule doesn't pose much of a threat to its record or ranking.
    Traveling to Middletown, Conn. on Saturday to cross sticks with the 1-2 Wesleyan Cardinals, the Jumbos hold a number of advantages. Most notably, in their 2008 season-opener against Wesleyan, the Jumbos recorded the most goals in a game in program history by clobbering the Cardinals 10-1. Nevertheless, the Tufts team is going into the match open-minded with just one expectation: Anything can happen.
    "Every game counts," Brown said. "Wesleyan may not be one of our biggest NESCAC opponents, but games are full of surprises. Our main focus is to build on what we've accomplished, but in doing so we have to keep an eye on the game we're playing so as not to get ahead of ourselves."