The women's soccer team shut out the Williams College Ephs 3-0 on Sunday in the finals of the NESCAC Championship at Kraft Field. The win moved the Jumbos to 12-3-1 overall and 8-2-1 in the league and earned them an automatic berth into the NCAA Div III Tournament with their first NESCAC crown.
The Jumbos came out with aggression, relentlessly pressuring the Ephs' defense and the conference's top rated goalie, sophomore Lindsay Starner, who posted a .46 goals against average during the regular season. With the wind blowing in their faces, the Ephs defense had a difficult time clearing the ball out of the zone, and the Jumbos quickly took advantage.
"Today was so amazing. It's so great to win, and we're having fun and playing hard," Tufts Coach Martha Whiting said after the game. "We played some of the best soccer that we've played all season."
The win was especially sweet for Tufts because it served as revenge for a Oct. 19 loss to Williams, when Tufts went down 2-0.
"The first time we played them we lost on stupid goals and bad calls, and it was awesome to get our revenge," Glassanos said. "We came out hard and fast, with so much heart and intensity. Everyone was ready."
The first score came when senior co-captain Alle Sharlip sent a corner kick in front of leaped up and headed it past Starner into the right corner of the goal for her sixth goal of the season. The goal was the first allowed by Williams in six games.
The Jumbos continued their pressure as the half continued, and in the 24th minute, sophomore forward Jen Baldwin was tripped and awarded a penalty kick as she tried to maneuver around her defender just seven yards from the net. Baldwin converted on her second penalty shot in as many days for her team leading seventh goal of the season.
Despite a two goal cushion, the Jumbos continued to be aggressive. Just 15 minutes later, in the 39th minute, freshman forward Sarah Callaghan received a pass from senior co-captain Cara Glassanos, streaking down the left side of the field and beating three Williams' defenders along the way. Callaghan sent a centering cross to junior forward Becca Doigan, who then sent the ball to freshman midfielder Lindsay Garmirian, who finally poked the ball over a charging Starner into the right corner of the net.
"It was a perfect setup by Becca and Sarah, and I was just there to put it in the net," Garmirian said.
The goal, which was the first of Garmirian's collegiate career, gave the Jumbos a commanding 3-0 lead in the first 40 minutes of the game. It also marked the first time the Ephs had given up three goals in a game since a 3-1 loss to Trinity College on Sept. 30, 1995.
"Scoring the third goal was very important for us," Baldwin said. "It really diminished Williams' hopes, and gave us all the more confidence."
"The wind was a big factor throughout the game, and it was extremely relieving for us as a team to be up three goals as opposed to being up only one."
The Jumbos were all smiles at the half, though they knew that the game was far from over. They outshot Williams 11-3, neutralizing two of the Ephs' top offensive threats, sophomore striker Hannah Stauffer and their leading scorer, senior co-captain Stacey Starner.
In addition, the Jumbos' three goals prompted the Ephs' first year coach Michelyne Pinard to pull Starner for freshman backup keeper Clara Hard. However, because the teams switched sides in the second half, Tufts would be playing into the wind, a task they knew would not be easy.
Both teams came out strong at the start of the second. In the 57th minute, Ephs freshman forward Elise Hansen sent a rocket on goal from 20 yards away that Tufts sophomore keeper Meg McCourt dove to deflect out of bounds. On the ensuing corner kick, the Ephs centered the ball but Lovitz outjumped the Ephs' attackers and headed the ball clear.
Williams stayed persistent on offense as the game progressed, but the Jumbos defense stayed strong and prevented any uncontested shots on net. Stauffer tallied six shots in the second half alone, and junior forward Claire Samuels had five, though all proved unsuccessful. In the half, the Ephs outshot the Jumbos 17-9, but McCourt, who made six saves in recording her seventh shutout of the season, let nothing past her. Overall, the teams both had 20 shots a piece, with the Jumbos having the slight edge in corner kicks, 5-4.
As the final buzzer sounded, the Jumbos' bench cleared and the team piled on each other near the midfield line. Soon after, a NESCAC representative and Tufts Athletic Director Bill Gehling presented Williams captains' Starner and Colleen Doody with the Runner-Up plaque, and Tufts captains Glassanos and Sharlip with the champions trophy.
"We totally deserved the title, and winning it just proves how good we really are," McCourt said. "I wanted it so badly, and my defense played awesome. It has been a long season, and I'm just so happy for all of us."
Glassanos physically and vocally led the Jumbos defense throughout the entire contest, neutralizing the prolific Williams attack for the entire game, despite sustaining a deep gash above her left eye on Friday that required 19 stitches.
"I came out early before practice on Friday to work on penalty kicks. I tried to lift up the goal by myself, and it fell on me," she said.
The Jumbos were without starting sophomore defender Alina Schmidt, who injured her back in Saturday's game against Connecticut College, and reserves sophomore Jess Gluck (concussion) and freshman Lydia Claudio (stress fracture).
"Every single person on this team makes such an impact. We have an eight person deep bench, which allows us to substitute whenever we want, because the player coming in is just as good as the player going out," Glassanos said.
Freshman Ariel Samuleson started in place of the injured Schmidt at right fullback, and played the entire contest. In addition, freshmen Callaghan and Garmirian both played the majority of the game, greatly impacting the outcome both tangibly and intangibly.
"Today is the most perfect day ever," Sharlip said. "We beat Williams when it counted, and now we're the NESCAC champions."
Winning the championship was particularly special for the four seniors on the team, Glassanos, Sharlip, and midfielders EA Tooley and Brenna O'Rourke.
"Alle and Cara work hard every minute of every game and practice. They always leave their hearts on the field, and watching them just makes me want to play that much harder," Callaghan said.
"We're going to miss them," Whiting said. "The senior class is the heart of our team, and we will never be able to replace them."
The Jumbos advanced to the championship game on Sunday by beating the Connecticut College Camels in the semifinals on Saturday at Kraft field. Tufts struck early as Baldwin eluded two Camel defenders and took off for the goal in the 12th minute. She drilled a shot past Camel sophomore net minder Paige Diamond that ricocheted off the far post into the net.
Just five minutes later, Camel freshman fullback Caitlyn Dickinson sent a lead pass to senior captain Lauren Luciano, who fired the ball past McCourt into the back of the net. Neither team scored again in regulation time, despite both teams having golden opportunities. In the first overtime, the Jumbos dominated play, not allowing Connecticut to get off a shot, but Tufts couldn't put one into the net.
However, just thirty seconds into the second overtime, Baldwin faked out her defender just ten yards from the goal, and was tripped up and awarded a penalty shot. She ripped a shot into the upper right hand corner of the net to clinch the victory for the Jumbos.
Williams defeated Bowdoin in the other semifinal match 4-3 in penalty kicks, after the teams battled for 110 scoreless minutes.
By winning the championship, the Jumbos received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which starts later this week. Tufts will face the Nichols College Lady Bison (13-7) in the first round at Kraft field tomorrow. The winner will travel to New Hampshire to face the 23rd ranked Keene State Owls (19-2-1).
"First, we got to host the NESCAC tournament. Now, we've won it, and are moving on to the NCAA tournament," Sharlip said. "This is all really exciting, and we're just taking it one day at a time."
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