Women's soccer coach Martha Whiting did not like what she was seeing from her team in the first 25 minutes of Wednesday's non-conference game against Gordon. While the Jumbos got on the board in the first minute on a goal from sophomore Jess Trombly, their level of intensity declined sharply after the score.
The team grew sluggish, and seemed destined for yet another lackluster first-half performance. Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots took advantage, controlling play and putting together a number of strong scoring opportunities, including all three of their corner kicks.
After the third corner, Whiting decided it was time for a change. In what she described as a "massive substitution", the coach removed nearly half of her starters with just under 20 minutes remaining in the opening period.
"If I see someone I think isn't pushing themselves to the limit, I'll take them off the field," she said. "I have expectations of them, and they have expectations of themselves, but sometimes they need a little push."
In the starter's places, she sent in senior co-captain Katie Ruddy, who returned to the field for the first time in two weeks, and four freshmen: Becky Greenstein, Lindsay Wolejko Catherine Benedict, and Sarah Gelb. The switch worked instantaneously. Injecting the team with an immediate surge of adrenaline, the Jumbos easily dominated play through the end of the period, amassing a 17-4 advantage on shots by the break.
The freshmen continued to contribute through the second half as well, with Wolejko assisting on junior Elizabeth Tooley's goal in the 53rd minute. Fellow freshman forward Michelle Sawyer came close to notching the first goal of her collegiate career, knocking in a ball in the 86th minute that was called back and ruled a no-goal.
"I'm so happy with the freshmen. They're not only solid, but they are contributing a lot more than I expected," Whiting said. "And they're fitting in well, too - the team has nice chemistry right now."
In fact, this year's freshmen are contributing more than any freshman class in recent memory. Aside from sheer numbers - there are eight freshmen on the roster this season, twice as many as in either of the last two years - the class of 2005 is putting in a lot of quality playing time. There are no standouts of yet, which differs from previous years when players such as Cooper and Trombly exploded out of the gates to post 20 or more points in their preliminary campaigns.
Instead the class is performing well as a whole, having tallied five points, and is also playing well away from the net. Whiting has said repeatedly that she feels confident sending any of them out to play, and they have more than backed up her words. The point total equals that of last year's season total for freshmen if Trombly, the NESCAC Rookie of the Year, is discounted.
Both Gelb and Wolejko have appeared in every game so far this season, and each has found her way onto the scoresheet, Gelb with two assists and Wolejko with one.
Greenstein has appeared in five games, and scored the first goal in Tufts' 2-0 victory at Wesleyan on Sept. 12, while Benedict, Sawyer, and defensive back Alina Schmidt have also contributed valuable minutes to the team. And while she is not expected to see much playing time for the remainder of this season, goalkeeper Meg McCourt played well when called upon to fill in for senior Mara Schanfield, who missed a game and a half after receiving a red card in the season opener.
Even with strong performances from the freshmen, however, the Jumbos will have their work cut out for them tomorrow when they travel back up to Maine to take on the 6-1 Bates Bobcats in a crucial conference battle. The Bobcats are on a hot streak this season, having won their last four games. In the last week, they have picked up two conference wins, defeating Trinity 4-0 and Middlebury 3-0. They have not allowed a goal since a 2-0 loss to Amherst on Sept. 15 - the only game this year in which they have been scored against.
Bobcats' senior co-captain Kate Dockery leads both her team and the NESCAC with 20 points already this season on nine goals and two assists. Freshman Katie Carroll has also contributed four goals, while senior Amanda Waterhouse leads the NESCAC in assists, with six. Junior goalkeeper Kim Martell leads the conference with a .36 goals against average.
Bates was ranked fifth in New England in the Sept. 24 NSCAA poll. At 3-1 the Jumbos are third in the NESCAC, one place ahead of 2-1 Bates, but dropped out of both the national and regional rankings after the opening defeat at Babson and last Saturday's loss to Colby.
Tufts and Bates will face off in Lewiston, ME. this Saturday at 12 p.m.
