Women's soccer easily advances with win over Nichols

Playing through miserably rainy, muddy, and cold conditions, the women's soccer team advanced to the second round of the Div III NCAA Tournament yesterday with a convincing 4-0 victory over the visiting Nichols College.

Despite the fact that the team has not given up a goal in its last two games, players did not feel that they did as well as they could have.

"We played okay today, though definitely not up to our potential," senior midfielder EA Tooley said. "The conditions were very sloppy, but we did what we needed to do to get the win, so we're happy."

Tufts came out with aggression, sending the ball into the Lady Bison zone at the start of the game and keeping it there for the first seven minutes. Despite having numerous shot opportunities, the Jumbos were unable to capitalize.

Tufts struck first in the 21st minute, when sophomore defender Catherine Benedict headed a Bison goal kick to sophomore midfielder Sarah Gelb just 20 yards from the net. Gelb then sent a centering pass to a crowd of Jumbos, which ricocheted off a Bison defender and skidded through two puddles along the way. Red-hot sophomore Jennifer Baldwin collected it and sent it into the far corner of the net for her team leading ninth goal of the season, and fourth in the past three games.

Just 13 minutes later, in the 34th minute, the Jumbos struck again. Junior forward Becca Doigan sent a long ball up the middle of the field to freshman midfielder Lindsay Garmirian. The speedy Garmirian flew past Nichols' lone defender and fired the ball into the right corner of the net for her second goal in as many days, giving the Jumbos a 2-0 lead. They achieved this all before the Bison had even attempted a shot.

Despite having a two-goal lead, the Jumbos continued to relentlessly pressure the Bison defense. On a corner kick in the 37th minute, sophomore midfielder Lindsay Wolejko sent a high ball at the right post, where senior co-captain Cara Glassanos was perfectly stationed to chip it into the goal for her third of the season, giving Tufts a 3-0 lead.

The Jumbos were all smiles at the half, and they confidently jogged off the field to their locker room, while the Bison hobbled off to the visitors' locker room looking scared, frustrated, and beat up. The Jumbos dominated the Bison in the half, out-shooting them 23-1. Tufts kept the ball in Nichols' zone for the majority of the half, and the Jumbos back four defenders quickly quelled any of the Bison's potential scoring chances.

The second half of action saw more of the same. While the Bison came out with a little more fire and aggression, the Jumbos continued to put pressure on the Nichols' defense and stop any of their potential opportunities on offense.

The game got sloppier and more physical as time progressed. The rain started coming down harder, and the puddles on the field grew bigger and bigger, making it almost impossible not to slip. The Bison had their best scoring opportunity in the 74th minute, when leading scorer senior Kristine O'Coin blasted a shot on net from 20 yards away that Tufts keeper sophomore Meg McCourt had to leave her feet to stop.

Just eight minutes later, the Jumbos struck again after being awarded a free kick 15 yards away from the net. Freshman forward Sarah Callaghan cut in front of the net and headed a pass from Wolejko into the right corner of the net for her second goal of the season to seal the victory for Tufts. As the final buzzer sounded, Glassanos and junior fullback Abby Herzberg dove headfirst and slid 15 feet through a huge mud puddle near midfield.

With the victory, the Jumbos improved to 13-3-1 on the season.

"We're a pretty good team in the rain," coach Martha Whiting said. "We used our heads today, keeping the ball on the ground, getting behind every ball and every shot. We definitely played a lot better in the first half, but we came away with the win, which is all that matters."

The Jumbos out-shot the Bison 36-5 in the contest. McCourt needed to make only three saves in the game, all in the second half to record her seventh shutout of the season. Baldwin led Tufts with six shots, and Garmirian tallied five in the game.

"The weather was a huge equalizer," senior co-captain Alle Sharlip said. But Sharlip was not entirely satisfied with the game.

The Bison "acted like they were in seventh grade. They didn't care about being here at all, it was pathetic... I just wish [the win] hadn't been against Nichols in these gross conditions."

With the win, the Jumbos advanced to the second round of the NCAA Div III tournament and will travel to Wheaton College in Norton, MA this weekend to face the Keene State Owls. The Owls, who are ranked second in New England, one ahead of the Jumbos, were in attendance for the game because they were awarded a first round bye.

Most of the players know next to nothing about Keene State, but the team received help from an unexpected source.

"The Williams coach is going to give us video on their game against Keene State," Glassanos said. "But ultimately, we can't control them, we can only control ourselves, and how we play."