The field hockey team sacrificed its third game of the season on Sunday afternoon, falling to NESCAC foe Bates College on Huskins Field. In the 2-1 defeat, they lost by a single goal for the third time this season, and subsequently dropped to an even 2-2 in the conference and 4-3 overall.
"They were a really aggressive team," junior Liesl Bradford said. "They were very quick moving to the ball and it was a good match for us."
However, Bates' talent and aggression did not make the loss any easier for the Jumbos. "It was a really tough loss because we wanted it so badly, especially given our past with them," junior Lindsay Lionetti said.
Earlier in last year's campaign, Bates clinched a heart-breaker over Tufts in the final seconds of a regular season contest. Last weekend, though, the visiting Bobcats were seething with revenge after being knocked out of the ECAC playoffs at the end of last season by the then eighth seeded Jumbos. Although Tufts came out strong in the first few minutes of play on Sunday, the visitors' ferocity was evident throughout the majority of the Bates-dominated game.
The Jumbos took an early 1-0 lead at 22:27 when senior co-captain Colette Gaudet notched her third goal of the season off of a pass from junior Christina Orf. However, Tufts eased up after a game-opening surge, and could not create many other scoring opportunities on the half.
"We were a little slow getting into the game and played a bit on our heels," Lionetti said. "We did lead them in the first half, but we weren't really on top of things."
Bates exploded in the second stanza, and at 30:48 freshman Sarah Weatherbee got one past Tufts sophomore goalie Lauren Rufino, who made her second start of the season. Just two minutes later, the Bobcats bit again when sophomore Julia Price found the net to pull ahead 2-1.
"The second that we let up, they took advantage of it," Orf said. "It just further proves that we can't let up at all."
Observing her squad's sluggish play, coach Carol Rappoli called a time-out shortly thereafter that would change the pace of the game. "After our time-out, the tone of the game really changed, but it was a little too late to get things going," Lionetti said. "Our second half was really good after the first few minutes."
In the final minutes of the game, the Jumbos had several opportunities which, according to Orf, could have easily been goals. The majority of the team's goals have been scored off of corners and penalty shots, a trend that the team hopes to alter before the campaign is over.
"It's a little frustrating on the offense right now," Orf said. "I feel like we have a lot of skill and we are an offensive threat, but it's frustrating not putting it in the goal cage during regular play... we need to start to do that"
"I don't know if there is any direct cause for our loss," Lionetti said. "We just need to learn how to come out strong and stay strong."
The weekend's loss comes at the heels of a run of four successful games for the Brown and Blue, and leaves the team standing at fifth in the NESCAC. The Jumbos are confident that they can rebound from the upsetting loss in time for Thursday's match-up against Babson College.
"Our team is set up the way it should be," Lionetti said. "We're all playing well together, we just need to keep playing consistently throughout the whole game."
Orf concurs with her teammates' sentiments. "I'm really not too worried," she said. "I think we just need to be more aggressive with our shots and get into the circle more often. There needs to be a greater sense of urgency on the field."
The team travels to Babson on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. for its third non-conference match of the season. On Saturday, the Brown and Blue will make the trek to Bowdoin conference to face the second-ranked Polar Bears.
"It's going to be a very big game," Bradford said. "It's our next NESCAC game and that in itself is important, but Bowdoin is always a great game. We're usually pretty equally matched and I think we're ready for them."
