In what has already been a roller?coaster season, the No. 14 women's lacrosse team is now rumbling toward the finish line, starting with its second?to?last regular season game at Wesleyan tomorrow. The matchup with the Cardinals comes on the heels of a critical 14?8 win at home against Bates on Tuesday that boosted the Jumbos into sixth place in the NESCAC standings.
Tufts (8?4 overall, 4?4NESCAC) is now hoping to jump even higher in the conference standings, knowing that a fifth?place finish would allow the team to avoid the conference powerhouses - national No. 3 Trinity, No. 6 Middlebury and No. 8 Colby - in the first round of the playoffs. Since Tufts' last game is against Bowdoin, which is currently in fifth with a 5?4 record, the Jumbos are guaranteed to finish at least fifth if they win their last two games.
Tufts will certainly be boosted by its victory over Bates on Tuesday. The 14?8 win was a complete turnaround from the team's disappointing showing against Amherst last weekend, as both the offense and defense seemed to regain the fluidity and confidence that evaporated against the Lord Jeffs.
"We played infinitely better against Bates than we did in Amherst," senior tri?captain defender Katie Lotz said. "I think as a whole our team was more confident, and on attack we were more patient and dynamic, which made a huge difference. To be honest, we didn't really change much defensively; [we] just made sure we were communicating all the time, since that is a huge part of playing a zone defense."
The contrast was like night and day, as the Jumbos committed fewer turnovers and took more shots than they did against the Lord Jeffs. An offense that had been held to just four goals against Amherst exploded for 14, while the defense held an opponent to single?digit scoring for the seventh time this season.
"The biggest difference between the Amherst game and the Bates game was our confidence with the ball," senior defender Maggie Casey said. "The attack played patiently but dynamically, and took all the right risks. On defense, we tried to shut down their fast?break chances. Once we were in settled defense, we were able to read where they liked to feed the ball from and where their cutters were beating us, so we could make adjustments to our zone."
Tuesday was Senior Day for the team, which honored its eight members of the Class of 2012 before its last regular season game at Bello Field. All eight have been an integral part of the team during the last four years, and the game gave them a chance to reflect on their college careers, which included a NESCAC regular season title and two NCAA tournament appearances.
"Lacrosse has been a huge part of my Tufts experience and through it I've made some really great friends," Lotz said.?"Being on a team creates a special bond, and after having been with the other seniors now for four years, I think we've become a very close group and have been through a lot together."
"We say this all the time, but we're really lucky to get to play every day with a team of our best friends," Casey added. "The girls on this team, more than any other team I have played for, really play for each other, and I think win or lose, that alone makes the time we spend worth it. It's definitely becoming bittersweet, and I was worried I would lose it after the game on Tuesday because it's unlikely we will be playing on Bello again. But luckily it was a great win and it kept us from getting too nostalgic."
Even with the emotions of the end of the season setting in, the team knows that it must stay focused on the task at hand, beginning with its game at Wesleyan tomorrow. Although the Cardinals have traditionally been a conference cellar dweller and have only one NESCAC win this year, the unpredictable nature of the NESCAC means no team can be taken lightly.
"For the Wesleyan game, we're going to try to build on our progress from Bates," Casey said. "I think if we can continue to be patient with the ball and minimize turnovers in transition, we will spend less time in our defensive end, and hopefully the attackers can use that time to wear Wesleyan down and find the best openings."
"Every game from now on is huge, especially these next two for NESCAC standings and NCAA bids as well," Lotz added. "We're going to continue focusing on our attack and our transition, trying to perfect the small things in our game."
