Jumbos prepare for round two

The women's soccer team will travel down to Norton, MA tomorrow to take on Keene State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Jumbos will play at 1:30 p.m., while host Wheaton College will play Bridgewater State at 11 a.m. The winners will meet Sunday in the finals of the New England Regional.

Keene, currently ranked second in New England and 13th in the nation, promises to be a tight match for Tufts, which is ranked just behind them at third in the region and 17th nationally. Formerly a Division II school, Keene dropped down in 1997, and last went to the NCAAs in 1998, when they lost to Colby in the first round.

Keene's Owls won their first Little East Conference Championship this year, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Western Connecticut 3-2 in the conference finals and earn both a tournament bid and a first-round bye. Their 19-2-1 overall record includes a win over Middlebury, and a current ten-game winning streak that dates back to Oct. 9, when they lost 2-1 to Williams. Keene's only other loss came early in the season against Wheaton.

The team is led by junior forward Erin Lester, who has racked up 47 points on 18 goals and 11 assists. Junior midfielder Jennifer Ortisi is second on the team in scoring, with eight goals and six assists, while seniors Colleen Antonini (1G, 12A) and Aleisha Nelly (5G, 4A) are tied for third with 14 points.

Keene is also strong in the net, with sophomore goalkeeper Michelle Mason allowing just 16 goals in 22 games, posting a .75 GAA, 84.9 save percentage, and ten shutouts on the year.

The Jumbos enter the game riding a six-game unbeaten streak, during which they have given up just one goal. Tufts advanced to the second round after beating Nichols College 4-0 at home on Wednesday afternoon.

The two teams have never met, which will make this game very different from the familiar match-ups that fill the Jumbos' regular-season schedule. Coach Martha Whiting has done some advance scouting, talking to coaches from Middlebury and Williams. But for the most part, her team will stick to business as usual this weekend, looking to come out strong and assert its own style of play.

The Jumbos are excited to go up against someone new, and are looking forward to a game against one of the region's tougher teams.

"It'll be nice to be playing someone different," Whiting said. "We have to understand that, from now on, every team we play is going to be good. Keene has a great record and some really good athletes. It's not enough just to show up. We have to fight it out for 90 minutes and really work our butts off."