With only 13 seconds left in regulation during the No.17 women's lacrosse team's game Saturday on Bello Field, No. 10 Amherst's senior tri-captain attacker Marta Randall made a run down the field after a Tufts turnover to score the go-ahead goal that pushed the Lord Jeffs to a 6-5 victory over the Jumbos. Despite outshooting the Lord Jeffs 27-13 and controlling possession in the final minute, Tufts could not find the back of the net enough for the win and instead dropped to 6-5 overall and 2-5 in the NESCAC.
Tufts held the ball in Amherst's half of the field with under a minute to play, poised to make a final push to break the 5-5 tie in its favor. Instead, however, a charge call against the Jumbos turned the ball over to the Lord Jeffs, who was able to take advantage of the opportunity. Randall collected a long pass before making it past a defender to score the game-winner.
Despite the fact that Amherst never trailed during the game, Tufts was able to keep itself in a position to win throughout, forcing four ties including a 3-3 score going into halftime. While the Jumbos were not able to pull off the upset, the team consisders the impressive display against a highly ranked team as proof that this team is improving and priming itself for the postseason.
I think it was the best game we've played as a team so far," senior co-captain attacker Kerry Eaton said. "Our defense played very well, the midfield transition was working, and we were very patient on attack. Overall, we played well. It didn't go our way at the end, and we missed shots, but we played as a team."
Leading the Jumbos offensively were junior attacker Gabby Horner and freshman attacker Caroline Ross, who each scored twice in the game. Junior midfielder Eliza Halmo also added a goal on an assist from junior midfielder Kate Applegate at the 7:12 mark of the second half, which tied the game at 5-5. On the defensive end of the field, senior defender Collier Clegg caused four turnovers, while senior co-captain defender Meg Boland caused three, as the Jumbos were able to upset the Amherst attack and limit its goal scoring.
"We did a really good job at taking care of the ball, especially on attack," Applegate said. "Simultaneously, the defense did a good job at forcing turnovers before Amherst even got down to our end. We did a great job, held Amherst to only six goals."
Though the Jumbos have been steadily working to improve, Tufts sits tied for seventh place in the NESCAC, as it hasn't been able to put all the pieces together against stiff conference competition. The hard work against talented teams may, however, pay off in the coming weeks leading into the postseason. The Jumbos have three games remaining, all of which are against NESCAC opponents: Bates on April 16, Wesleyan on April 20, and No. 9 Bowdoin on April 24. While Bowdoin is certainly a top-tier team, Wesleyan is winless in the NESCAC and Bates shares seventh place with the Jumbos right now. The team will have to come away with victories against all of these opponents to clinch a spot in the NESCAC Tournament.
"I think we've played some of the hardest teams in NESCAC so far," Eaton said. "We're on the upswing, continually getting better every game. I'm hoping that this continues for our next three games, and I think yesterday we just got unlucky with the end of the game. We missed a lot of goal opportunities and that was why the game was so close."
Team morale has certainly not taken a hit despite the conference losses, and specifically the hard-fought loss this weekend.
"We know we are still in it," Applegate said. "We have three big games coming up, and everyone's really fired up. Basically we need to beat every team from now on. Everyone knows it and realizes how important it is for our season.""
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