Bantams peck away a win in overtime

The field hockey team lost a 2-1 heartbreaker on Saturday in a soggy overtime match against NESCAC opponent Trinity College in Hartford, CT. The team's record now stands at 2-7 overall and 2-3 in league competition.

The Jumbos gained momentum from sophomore Jennie Sachs' tying goal and senior tri-captain Dana Chivvis' pass in the closing minute of the second half, but this was dashed early in overtime. At 3:50 into the sudden death period, Trinity junior Jennifer Latiff capitalized on a pass from senior co-captain Susan Hoppock to break the stalemate and send Tufts home with their fifth straight loss.

Winning in dramatic fashion has been the Trinity trend as of late, as the Bantams came out on top in three straight overtime games versus Smith and Connecticut College. The victory elevated Trinity's record to 3-7 overall and 2-4 against NESCAC adversaries placing them seventh in the league.

With Sachs' goal in the second half, the Jumbos broke a 394 minute scoring drought spanning four shut-out competitions.

"Jennie was in the right place at the right time and had a beautiful final touch," senior tri-captain Ursula Stahl said. "We were under pressure and knew we had get something done."

Up until Saturday, the squad had not put the ball in the back of the net since Sept. 21 during its 1-0 victory over Connecticut College. It has been unable to finish deep in enemy territory thus relinquishing games by one or two goals. The ladies lost to both Bates and Wheaton 1-0 and to Babson 2-0 in recent weeks.

Even though one Jumbo shot did find the back of the net, the game was full of offensive frustration.

"The offense tried really hard," Stahl said. "There were so many opportunities that it just didn't capitalize on. We were so close so many times."

Despite their struggles to score, the Jumbos played very strong defensively throughout the entire competition. They managed to hold Trinity scoreless through the first half and frustrate the Bantams for nearly twenty minutes into the second frame.

Trinity finally took advantage of one of its 22 shots when Hoppock rocketed the ball past Tufts senior goalkeeper Lauren Rufino on an unassisted shot with 16 minutes left on the game clock. The only other Trinity goal came in overtime to seal the match.

With the loss, Tufts is ranked sixth in the NESCAC. The Jumbos need to be one of the top seven teams in the league to qualify for the playoffs. With two NESCAC competitions coming up this week _ Tuesday against fifth place Wesleyan and Saturday against first place Williams _ the next few days will be very important for Tufts to remain in playoff contention.

"We will work on our overtime plays more in practice and continue to focus on moving the ball and finishing offensively in regulation," Stahl said.

One obstacle the team will face lies in returning to play on grass after two weeks of away matches on artificial turf. The pace of the game is slower on grass and the ball takes stranger bounces requiring spur of the moment reactions. Another factor in New England this time of year is the changing weather.

"On Saturday, it was pouring rain so the conditions were totally different. Our team likes that kind of play, but it was a hard adjustment." Stahl said.

Tufts will put Saturday's discouraging loss behind it and concentrate on its next two games. Whatever the weather and whatever the circumstances, this week will be crucial both during practice and in match play to determine whether the Jumbos will find themselves in action on Nov. 3 in the first round of the playoffs or will finish the season on a disappointing note.