Two first half goals sink Jumbos

The field hockey team fell to first place Williams (6-1, 9-1) on Saturday, losing 2-1. The loss to the Ephs followed a Tufts victory over Williams in a 1-0 shutout. The Jumbos now sit in a tie for sixth place with Colby and will need to fight hard through the rest of the season in order to make it into the playoffs.

As has been the pattern for the season, the Jumbos had difficulty getting started in the first half. Williams offense, one of the best in the league, hounded the Tufts defense, forcing the Jumbos to spend much of the game defending their goal inside the circle. Twice Williams was able to capitalize, scoring two goals towards the end of the first half, within four minutes of each other. The first came after sophomore Tara Boyd intercepted a pass in scoring range, and was able to slip it past senior goal keeper Lauren Rufino.

"We were slow in the first half, but we played like a team and pushed through it" Rufino said.

After the goal, Tufts spent a couple of minutes in the Williams backfield, only to be put under pressure again by the Ephs. William's junior Tori Scott made a pass to senior Stef Noering, who was then able to find the back of the net with four minutes left in the first half.

"We had a lot of missed opportunities in the first half," Coach Carol Rappoli said. "We also made a couple of mistakes defensively and that ended up costing us. We played much better in the second half and now it's a matter of coming out like that in the beginning."

The Jumbos came out in the second half with a new zest, determined not to be shut out.

"We were able to connect more as a team," sophomore Dana Panzer said. "Our free hits were a lot better and we started moving the ball. Even though we were down, we didn't give up."

Only ten minutes into it, freshman Lea Nepolitano scored her first goal as a Jumbo, converting a pass inside the circle by sophomore Jayme Heller. Unfortunately for the Jumbos, this would be the last goal scored in the game, as Tufts went on to lose 2-1.

The numbers represent an overpowering offensive attack from the Ephs. In the first half alone, Williams had fourteen shot attempts, and most of the game time was spent trying to get the ball outside of the Jumbo backfield. Rufino was forced to make eleven saves, whereas William's goal keeper Wendy Stone was challenged only once, not including the scored goal.

"Williams has a strong offense but we were able to hold them," Rufino said. "it got a little hairy at times but the defense always came through."

Williams was able to control much of the play because of their ability to intercept the passes that the Jumbos had intended to move the ball out of danger.

"The Williams offense was difficult," Panzer said. "They had quick sticks and blocked a lot of our shots. We had trouble getting it out of the backfield. However, once we started cutting and coming to the ball it got a lot easier."

Saturday's loss put the Jumbos in danger of being shut out of the playoffs, but the situation would be much worse if not for the team's win over Wesleyan last Tuesday.

The Jumbos found an even match in the Cardinals as the game was held scoreless throughout the first half. Tufts began to challenge the Cardinals in the second, taking eleven shots and earning seven penalty corners. Sophomore Jennie Sachs scored an unassisted goal with 15 minutes remaining. This would be the only goal of the game, as the Jumbo defense again came up big for the team. Rufino earned the shutout with eight saves. Wesleyan is currently sitting in a tie for fourth place against Bates.

The next two NESCAC conference games will determine the fate of the Jumbos' post-season. Next Saturday, the Jumbos will travel to Middlebury while Colby will host first-place Bowdoin. Middlebury is currently in third place right now with a record of 5-2. After Middlebury, Tufts will close the regular season going head-to-head with Colby, in a game whose winner will most likely earn the last playoff spot. In order for the Jumbos to win the game, they will have to come out strong from the beginning of the game.

"If we can take the same intensity from the second half and start our games like that, we can kill any team that comes at us," Rufino said.