After dropping a very close decision to Bentley College in its first game of the season, the field hockey team hoped to bounce back with a victory in its home opener against Middlebury on Saturday. But despite a staunch defensive effort throughout all of regulation and much of overtime, the Middlebury, the Jumbos fell in heartbreaking fashion, 1-0, to the Panthers.
"It was a very even game that could have easily gone either way," senior Meghan Carleton said. Middlebury "was just fortunate enough to come out on the winning end."
Both teams were frustrated by stalwart defenses and wall-like goalkeepers, as the game remained scoreless through seventy minutes of regulation play. Though the play was very even during the first half, Middlebury took control of the game in the second. However, the Panthers' offensive efforts were shut down by a strong Tufts defense, which denied ten penalty corner opportunities.
Tufts goalie Lauren Rufino was effective in turning away shots, as she finished the day with eight saves while keeping the Jumbos in the match. Tufts mounted an attack late in the second half but was met head on by the Panthers defense. Goalie Jo Opot turned back all Jumbo scoring opportunities and finished with four saves on the day.
After a scoreless regulation period, the game headed into overtime, where Middlebury again controlled play. The Tufts defense held strong, however, and with junior defender Ursula Stahl stopping the Panther penetration, the game seemed headed for a tie.
With a mere ten seconds remaining in the overtime, though, NESCAC leading scorer Char Lessner found herself in open space in front of the goal and fired a shot beyond the reach of Rufino, securing the 1-0 victory for the Panthers.
"I felt like it was a very good game," Carleton said following the game. "We played well and stuck with it all the way. We never gave up."
The loss marked the second time the Jumbos have been shut out in as many games. Last Thursday, the Jumbos struggled to climb out of a 1-0 deficit as Bentley junior Kristyn Bates, a second-team All-American last fall, scored the game's only goal less than five minutes into the contest. Although Tufts contained Bentley for the remainder of the game, it could not find the net.
"It was a hard first game to have to have played," senior tri-captain Christina Orf said. "They were really rough, and we only had a couple of days to adjust to playing on turf."
Because the game was played on Division II Bentley's home field, the players were forced to adjust to the fast paced nature of Astroturf play. That, in addition to the scrappy nature of the Falcons' strategy, positioned Tufts as the underdog from the get-go.
And Tufts' game suffered as a result of the Falcons' rough play. Midway through the second half, senior defender Liesl Bradford was taken out when she took a ball to the face off a Benltey chip shot. Bradford's injury forced her to sit out on Saturday's match against Middlebury, which removed a key component of the Jumbo defense. Just a few minutes after Bradford was hurt, Orf was blatantly taken down and sustained injury to her right calf, leaving her on the sidelines for the rest of the game.
"I don't think that anything went particularly wrong," senior tri-captain Lindsay Lionetti said. "We can't attribute the loss to one thing in particular. They just got out and scored early, other than that it was a pretty even match."
Although the team has yet to score a goal, it does not see its offense as a weakness.
"We're not typically a big scoring team," Carleton said. "We do need to work on our offense, but I definitely wouldn't call it a weakness."
The team foresees a close and spirited contest against Wellesley this week and will be hungering for the win after its last two close losses. "Wellesley is always a tough opponent," Carleton said. "Our main goal for the next game is to come out with the W. We've been so close in our last two games, and we really want the win."
After playing so competitively against two very challenging opponents, Carleton and the rest of the Jumbos are positive about their chances the rest of the season. "It was a tough way to start the season," she said. "But we're confident and ready to play."
The Jumbos will next face off in Wellesley at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. "Our next step is to work on defense to offense transition and to prevent defensive corners," Orf said. "The first few games are just a small setback, and we're excited to get out there and play this week."
