Following a 4-1 loss to Babson on Saturday, the women's soccer team wasted no time getting back into winning form. It played the important NESCAC conference opener on Wednesday in a much different manner than they had during Saturday's loss and dominated Wesleyan in a 2-0 victory.
The Jumbos used a modified defensive formation in this game, and more importantly, the squad had the use of all 11 players. Senior goalkeeper Mara Schanfield received a red card in the first quarter of Saturday's game and as a result the team was forced to complete the match at "man down" strength. Although Schanfield had to sit out Wednesday's game as part of her penalty, the team was once again able to the normal number of players. Replacing her was freshman Meg McCourt, who made her first collegiate start and earned the shutout with five saves. While she didn't see too much offensive pressure from the Cardinals, McCourt made a few point blank saves that kept her team in the contest.
It did not take the Jumbos long to atone for Saturday's loss, as less than ten minutes into the contest, freshman midfielder Becky Greenstein took a pass from sophomore forward Becca Doigan and slid it by the Wesleyan goalkeeper. Both Greenstein and Doigan came off the bench to make the instantaneous impact.
"Becca is a great player to have coming off the bench," coach Martha Whiting said. "The difference between this year and last year is really amazing. She came to preseason in great shape."
Senior Sara Standish, back in the lineup after missing most of last season due to injury, was the second Jumbo to score, as she netted an unassisted goal midway through the second half. While the 2-0 win was not a colossal victory by any means, the feeling after the game was one of reassurance for the Jumbos, who dominated control of the ball and out-shot their opponent 34-7.
"We were all excited about the win," junior Alle Sharlip said. "Wesleyan was hoping to upset us, but we controlled the ball the entire game."
With this victory, Tufts moves to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the NESCAC. But despite this success, the team cannot become complacent, as it faces the biggest test of the young season on Saturday against the Middlebury Panthers at Kraft Field. The Panthers were the only conference team that Tufts did not defeat last year, as the Jumbos lost 1-0 in the regular season, and 2-0 in the NESCAC Championship finals under blizzard conditions.
Tufts was able to avoid a potentially fateful meeting in the national playoffs with Middlebury when the Panthers were upset by Wheaton. Tufts went on to beat Wheaton and capture the New England Championship on its way to finishing as the national runner up.
This meeting on Saturday at Kraft Field at 1 p.m. will be extremely important in setting the tone for the rest of the season. While Tufts dropped off of the national rankings list following the loss to Babson, Middlebury currently stands at 13th and has moved up in the last three weeks.
"The Middlebury game will be huge," Sharlip said. "They know how important this game will be, and they will be gunning for us."
So far Middlebury (2-0) has edged conference rival Connecticut College by a score of 3-2 and dismantled non-conference foe Norwich 10-1. The Panthers return three first team All-NESCAC players: junior forward Meg Bonney, senior goalkeeper Ali Connolly, and senior defenseman Ellie Wendell.
