After an explosive start to the 2001 season, the women's lacrosse team has found itself in somewhat of a slump, having dropped two games in row. After falling to Trinity 14-11 in its NESCAC opener on Saturday, the team hoped to bounce back yesterday against Bowdoin.
The Jumbos' wishes were denied, however, as they found themselves stifled by a stingy Bowdoin defense, and outmatched by an equally powerful offense. The 10-6 loss left the team with a 3-2 record overall, including an early 0-2 mark in NESCAC play.
Tufts dominated Bowdoin early on, jumping out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by senior co-captain Jen Gregorian. Although Bowdoin was unable to advance the ball beyond midfield until five minutes into the game, the Polar Bears capitalized on their first opportunity, tying the game at one.
The Polar Bears quickly reeled off three more goals, leaving a stunned Tufts team in a 4-1 hole midway through the first half.
The Jumbos offense, which had averaged over 12 goals per game in its previous four games, failed to capitalize on a number of scoring opportunities, and the team found itself dropping passes and missing ground balls.
"We didn't have any discipline on offense," coach Carol Rappoli said after the game. "We really need to have more composure."
After the teams exchanged goals, making the score 5-2, senior attacker Liz Horowitz launched a shot past Bowdoin goalie Julia McCombs with 15 seconds remaining to close the gap to 5-3 at halftime.
Following the break, Bowdoin struck early, going up 6-3 just two minutes into the second half. The Tufts defense was unable to stop the efficient Bowdoin attack, as the Polar Bears pummeled sophomore goalie Ari Kristen with shots and scored five unanswered goals to go up 10-3 with eight minutes left in the game.
"Our defensive effort wasn't great," Rappoli said. "We need to play more help defense."
As in the first half, the Jumbos were unable to generate anything offensively in the second half. The team seemed somewhat out of sync, trying to force passes and failing to capitalize on the scoring opportunities that it did have.
"We were trying to run through double and triple teams," Rappoli said. "We were forcing the ball when there was really nothing there."
With 6:30 remaining, and the game out of reach, the Jumbos were able to break through the Bowdoin defense and narrowed the margin to six goals, at 10-4. Tufts got two more goals in the final 18 seconds from senior Katie Richardson and Gregorian, who finished with two goals on the day, increasing her season total to 14. Sophomore Maureen Mahon also finished the game with two goals.
The team will face Babson at home on Thursday at 4 p.m., and it's next NESCAC opponent on Saturday, in the form of Williams. Williams is ranked third nationally in the Division III power ratings, and will certainly pose tough competition for the Jumbos. With today's loss dropping the team to 0-2 in the NESCAC, each remaining NESCAC becomes crucial to the Jumbos' post-season life.
"We have a lot to work on and not much time to do it." Rappoli said. "It was a very frustrating loss for us."
