The No. 12 women's lacrosse team's game against No. 5 Trinity on Saturday was singled out by the Jumbos as their most important game of the year. They had been embarrassed by No. 7 Middlebury the weekend before, and were looking to avenge a pair of one-goal losses to the Bantams last season.
But while the result of the game - a 12-7 Trinity win - was not the one Tufts was hoping for, it was not as disheartening as important losses often are. The Jumbos know they are improving, and that gives them hope that they can finish strong in the second half of the season.
"Obviously, it's a disappointing loss, but overall we were proud of the way we played, because compared to last Saturday it was so much better," senior tri-captain Katie Lotz said. "Our offense was moving a lot better, we were passing a lot better, and we all got a lot more confident."
Against the undefeated Bantams - the reigning NESCAC champions - the host Jumbos knew that they would need an almost perfect outing to have a chance of victory. In particular, they needed to contain junior attacker Megan Leonhard, who torched them for eight total goals in the two meetings between the teams last season.
But Leonhard had other ideas, notching four goals on seven shots to lead Trinity's offensive attack. Trinity also scored four goals on free position shots, using its offensive firepower to outscore Tufts 8-4 in the first half.
"The referees really weren't our friends in this game, and free positions are extremely hard, not just for our goalie but for any goalie," Lotz said. "They were getting the ball and coming at us with speed, and I thought we did a good job of getting back, but we kept getting called by the refs for blocking, which gave them a ton of opportunities."
Despite the potency of the Bantams attack, the game remained close for most of the first half, and the Jumbos held a 4-3 lead with 12:18 gone after a goal by senior tri-captain Lara Kozin. But Trinity responded with six unanswered goals, a streak that stretched into the second half and essentially put the game away.
"We tried to stop their drives, but they found some holes in our zone defense," sophomore midfielder Kelley Cohen said. "After we went up 4-3, they called timeout and took the momentum from there, and unfortunately we never really got it back."
On defense, senior tri-captain Kelly Cakert played an excellent game for Tufts, forcing five turnovers, while junior goalie Tess Shapanka made six saves.
The Jumbos' offensive standout was once again junior attacker Kerry Eaton, who scored three goals to increase her team-high season total to 13. Eaton's performance underscored a much-improved effort from Tufts' offense, and although the squad scored just one more goal than it did against Middlebury, the newfound fluidity and communication among the team's attackers was an encouraging sign.
"After the Middlebury game we changed a lot of stuff up. We switched people around in our attack and focused on our transition, and just made a lot of little changes," Lotz said. "We also put Kelly Hyland on the draw, which made a huge difference."
Despite the hopeful signs from the Trinity matchup, the loss - which was the third straight conference defeat for the Jumbos - seriously hurt Tufts' NESCAC positioning. Now, the Jumbos stand tied for sixth with a 2-3 conference record, and are being chased by Bates, Wesleyan and Conn. College, each owning one conference win.
"Our goal from now on is to not lose again," Cohen said. "I think our offense looked more patient and we're continuing to get the looks. We need to keep finding players in transition, and if we keep improving we'll be fine for the rest of the season."
Tufts has now been outscored by 11 goals in conference play, a stark contrast to last year when the Jumbos had a goal differential of +21 in NESCAC contests.
There is still plenty of time to recover, though, with half of the conference schedule yet to be played. The team's attempt to march up the standings will begin this weekend with a home matchup against Williams, currently the only winless team in the NESCAC.
Despite the struggles the team has endured early on, the players are confident that they will remain competitive in Div. III's toughest conference.
"Our defense is really playing well, and it's one of our strongest aspects," Lotz said. "We just need a little more practice with the offense and our transition game. Once we get the rest of the stuff fixed we'll have the ability to beat anyone."
