With two NESCAC losses under its belt, the women's lacrosse team was eager for a win against Williams College on Saturday. Tufts' determination was clear from the start, as the Jumbos scored the first five goals of the game, leading to a 17-7 victory at Williams' Renzie Lamb Field.
"It was one of our team goals this year to beat Williams," senior co-captain Jenna Abelli said. "It felt really good because they knocked us out of the NESCAC tournament last year in overtime. We went into this game really mentally focused and pumped up. We spent a lot of spring break getting to know each other, and so we were ready for the game as a team. Excitement levels were very high and I think that showed on the field."
The game marked the first time Tufts has beaten Williams since 1995, a span which included 17 consecutive defeats at the hands of its bitter conference rival. The Jumbos ended last season with just three losses, two of which were narrow defeats against Williams by scores of 15-13 and 11-10.
This weekend's victory was a team effort led by Abelli, who scored six goals, and senior co-captain Alyssa Kopp, who tallied six ground balls and four draw controls. Sophomore Steph Perez, sophomore Lara Kozin and senior Emily Johnson each contributed two goals, while junior Sara Bloom had four saves in goal.
The Jumbos jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the 18:00 minute mark of the first half, which was then promptly met by Williams junior Anne Marie Burke, who scored the Ephs' first goal 14 minutes into the first half. Tufts, though, answered with four straight goals to give the Jumbos a 9-1 lead with under six minutes left before the break. In that time, Williams was able to score three goals, as Tufts entered the intermission with a 9-4 lead.
Williams' momentum carried over to the second half when sophomore Meera Sivalingam scored just 39 seconds into the half. Tufts again countered Williams' momentary success, though, by scoring five more straight goals, the first three from free position shots.
"Though we had a large lead going into the second half, it's important not to think that you're winning. We had to stay very focused," Abelli said. "In the NESCAC you can come back from a five-goal deficit really easily. I didn't feel confident until we were up by eight or nine and time was winding down."
The Jumbos outshone the Ephs both defensively and offensively, outshooting them 31-14 and allowing eleven fewer turnovers.
The team was not as successful in its NESCAC match at home versus Colby earlier in the week on March 20. The Jumbos led for over 40 minutes of playing time, at one point by four goals, but eventually fell 11-9 to the Mules, who came out on top when they managed to outscore Tufts 4-0 in the final ten minutes of the game. Johnson and Abelli led the Jumbos' offensive attack, scoring three goals each.
Following the Colby loss, the team boarded buses headed toward Albany, N.Y. for spring break action. The Jumbos faced Buffalo State last Wednesday, a game in which the Tufts offensive exploded for a 20-13 victory behind Johnson's six goals and five assists. Her 11 points tied the program's single-game scoring record, joining two other players who have accomplished the feat. The last time a Tufts player reached this record was in 1996 when Rebecca Black (LA '96) did so in back-to-back games against Mount Holyoke and Wesleyan.
Abelli scored four goals, while Kopp and Perez both had four ground balls and four ground controls. Most impressively, Tufts ended the game with seven turnovers versus Buffalo State's 21.
Tufts, despite the loss to Colby, gained valuable experience in its spring break games, which pushed the squad's record to 3-2 and gave the Jumbos their first NESCAC win.
"The break was definitely successful for our team," junior defender Lily Colahan said. "After losing our first two NESCAC games, it was important to beat Buffalo State and Williams. I think our two wins, especially versus Williams, will help other teams take us more seriously. We will approach the rest of the season more seriously as well, and use this momentum to go forward in the next games."
The Jumbos end the week of spring break lacrosse with a 1-2 NESCAC record and will face NESCAC opponent Bates on Wednesday before hosting Wesleyan on Saturday.
