Junior Lindsay Lionetti netted the game-winning, overtime goal on Saturday afternoon as the field hockey team picked up its second victory of the season. The Jumbos edged out visiting NESCAC foe Colby College in the 2-1 thriller to advance their record to 2-2.
"This was a crucial win for us," midfielder Lionetti said. "To win such an important game in the way that we did against such a tough opponent is a real confidence booster."
In a Tufts-dominated first half, senior co-captain Amy Polverini was first to light up the board at 26:44 off a pass from senior co-captain Collette Guadet following a penalty corner. The Tufts defense has stepped up its two-way play this season, combining for three goals and three assists on the campaign.
Although the Brown and Blue remained in control for the remainder of the first frame, they could not convert for another goal until Lionetti's overtime finale. Colby netted the equalizer just 90 seconds into the second stanza on a goal from close range by White Mule junior Becca Bruce.
After 33 minutes of scoreless regulation play, the squads were forced into overtime, where they once again faced stalemate.
"We totally dominated the first half, but they stepped it up in the second half," junior Liesl Bradford said. "I guess you would call that even but we were the obviously better team.... We proved that in overtime."
Finally, with 3:57 left in the second overtime, Lionetti lifted her team out of deadlock with a hand out from sophomore Laura Hacker. Lionetti received the pass at the top of the circle with her back to the goal and turned around for a low push-pass shot to the right corner of the goal. The tally was Lionetti's second of the season.
"I was excited to play overtime, but we were tired and wanted to get it over with quickly," Lionetti said. "It was exciting and nerve-wracking."
The tired Mules wore thin through the extra minutes, while Tufts controlled the ball for the majority of overtime action. "They were exhausted and they couldn't get anything together on the field," Bradford said. "Whereas we were very strong endurance-wise, they weren't."
Senior Dena Sloan earned the win with nine saves in goal against 15-penalty opportunities. With the weekend victory, the squad sits at fifth place in the NESCAC division with a 1-1 record.
"The win involved everybody, everyone contributed for a great team effort," Lionetti said. "It was a pretty good indicator of what were capable of. Hopefully, we can hang onto it."
Although it appears as though things are turning around for the Jumbos, the women are not resting on their laurels quite yet.
"We're really excited about these wins, and they've definitely given us some more motivation to keep playing hard," Lionetti said. "But we have a long way to go and have to keep playing as a team in order to keep winning."
The Jumbos hit the road this week for two away games. Tomorrow the team faces fourth-ranked Connecticut College in another critical NESCAC duel and then will match up against Wheaton College on Thursday.
"Connecticut is always an intense game, we're all pretty excited." Lionetti said. "It should be a pretty even game. We've been having productive practices lately, so I think we just need to keep on working on what we've been doing and we should do well."
