With its 3-0 win over the Bates Bobcats yesterday afternoon, the Tufts women's soccer team became the first team ever to win a game in the NESCAC Tournament. The victory advances the Jumbos to the semi-final round of the newly formed tourney to face Bowdoin. The four remaining teams, Tufts, Middlebury, Bowdoin, and Williams, will battle it out this weekend to determine the sole NESCAC spot in the NCAA tournament.
With the win, the Jumbos surpassed the two records they had tied in Saturday's 2-0 win over Williams. With the win, Tufts moved to 13-2 on the year, breaking the previous mark of 12, which was set by the 1998 team (12-3-2). Also, although she was only called upon to make one save, senior tri-captain Randee McArdle picked up her 21st career shutout, moving into sole possession of first place on the all-time list.
"I'm really psyched that 'Tex' broke the record today," coach Martha Whiting said of her goalie. "I'm really excited for her, cause she's such a great person and such a great part of our team. If anyone was going to break the record, I'm glad it's her."
"We played great today," McArdle said. "I obviously owe this record to my defense over the past three years. They've been awesome."
Tufts started off dominating the play of the game, and it didn't take the Jumbos long to get on the scoreboard. Less than ten minutes after the opening whistle, junior midfielder Becky Mann drove the ball down the right side of the field. She sent the ball into the box, where it bounced around before arriving at the feet of sophomore Alle Sharlip. Sharlip flicked the ball to senior tri-captain Sara Yeatman, who popped the ball up and over a leaping Bobcat keeper and into the net.
The Brown and Blue struck again less than four minutes later. The Jumbos moved the ball into the box, getting it to junior Lynn Cooper on the left side. She knocked it to Yeatman, who passed it on to Mann, who fired a shot past the goalie for her second goal of the year, giving Tufts an early 2-0 lead.
"We came out really strong, which was one of our pre-game goals," McArdle said. "We wanted to score first and come out really well in the first half, and we did. And I think that just set the tone for the whole game."
The Jumbos continued to pour on the offense, keeping the ball almost exclusively on Bates' side of the field. The Bobcats could only generate two scoring chances through the entire opening period. The first resulted in a cross that was cleared out by the defense, and the second in a shot that bounced off the top of the crossbar for a goal kick. By the time the buzzer signaled the end of the half, the Jumbos had put up 20 shots, compared to just one from Bates.
"We did a great job of possessing the ball," Whiting said. "That was one of the things we really focused on for this game, because they're very quick. They like to set the pace by knocking the ball on and chasing after it. What we tried to do was just slow it down, try to possess, and play the ball around them. We did a really good job of that."
Tufts added its third and final goal in the 37th minute, capitalizing on a corner kick. Junior Katie Kehrberger took the kick and fired it at the goal. It flew over the keeper, landing in front of Yeatman, who tapped her second score of the day into an open net. The goal was Yeatman's tenth on the year, lifting her team-leading point total to 23.
"We usually come out pretty flat in the beginning," Yeatman said, "but today we scored three goals in the first half, and that was huge."
The Bobcats picked things up in the second half, stepping up an offense that had been almost non-existent in the first half. For the 20 minutes of the period, the game went back and forth, with Bates finally seeming to match up well against the Jumbos. The increased intensity did not result in more production, however, as the Tufts defense was able to keep Bates from getting too far downfield. Eventually, the Jumbos rebounded and began to control play as they had in the first half. The defense allowed just five Bobcat shots on the day.
"It might have been a subconscious letdown," Whiting said. "I really tried to stress at halftime to play like the score was 0-0 and don't let down, but sometimes, subconsciously, you can't help it. But I also think that they're a good team, and they got fired up to come out and really come after us in the second half. It was a combination of them coming out hard and us maybe slacking off a little bit, but we did pick it up a bit as the half went on. By the end, we were definitely controlling and getting more shots."
Tufts will now move on to the semi-finals of the tournament, which will take place Saturday at Middlebury. The Jumbos will face off against a Bowdoin team that beat them 4-1 earlier this season, the team's worst loss since 1996. Bowdoin beat Colby 3-2 in the first round to advance.
"We're playing great right now, so we're looking at this weekend with a positive attitude," McArdle said. "They're going to underrate us, and we have nothing to lose. We're quite a bit better [than the first time we played them]. That game, we had a lot of injuries, and a lot of our starters didn't play. It was just an off day for us. I couldn't think of a better situation to go into this game. I like being the underdog."
Yeatman is also optimistic about her team's chances. "To come into the tournament beating a team 3-0 means something," she said. "I like playing [Bowdoin]. It's a big challenge - they play a lot differently than we do. But at least now we know that. We know that they're quick up front, and we know how to defend them."
The winner of Saturday's game will play Sunday against the winner of Middlebury vs. Williams, the other semi-final game, which will also be played Saturday. Williams beat Amherst 1-0 yesterday, snapping a five-game losing streak in conference matches. Middlebury, the number-one team, received a bye in the first round.
"We didn't even play our best, and we still played well enough to beat [Bates]," Whiting said. "From the time we played them the first time until now, we've improved a lot. [The tournament] is down to four teams, and I feel like we have just as good a shot as anyone to go all the way on Sunday, but we have Saturday to contend with first."
