Loss to Amherst drops women's lacrosse from playoff contention

All season long, the women's lacrosse team never entered halftime facing a deficit of more than one goal. That changed Wednesday afternoon against the #3 team in the nation.

The Amherst Lord Jeffs (11-1, 7-1) overwhelmed the Jumbos early and often at Kraft Field, jumping out to a 7-0 first half lead en route to a 13-6 victory. The loss dropped Tufts to 5-6 overall (1-6, NESCAC), and eliminated them from playoff contention. With only one game remaining, the Jumbos are in danger of finishing below .500 for the first time in 24 years.

Amherst came into the game riding a six game winning streak, and they weren't missing any beats early. They were able to control both the ball and the tempo in the first half, holding possession on offense for the majority of the time.

"Our defense was working hard, fronting cutters," senior co-captain Kathy Kenney said. "But Amherst was really patient, and they managed to get inside our defense."

Senior co-captain Ari Kristan admitted that the Lord Jeffs were able to put pressure on her in goal. "They had good, accurate shooters," Kristan said. "They were able to get inside eight meters to get good shots, which is something other teams couldn't do, and that was a key to their success."

Amherst was able to convert these high percentage shots, getting two goals apiece in the first half from junior Liz Martin and senior Mary Kate Allen on the way to a 7-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Tufts was unable to get into its rhythm on offense, as Lord Jeff keeper Brooke Diamond faced only three shot attempts in her first half shutout.

"We have a hard time playing against a man-to-man zone," junior attack Willow Hagge said. "They pushed us away from the goal, made us take outside shots, and we rushed some things. We weren't patient enough."

"When you give up some early goals, it can be hard to get on track because you want to get the quick goal," coach Carol Rappoli said. "We took some low percentage shots that we shouldn't have, but that's what happens with a young attack."

It took the young attack 42 minutes to score, finally getting on the board on freshman Dena Miller's goal at 17:57 in the second half. By then the Lord Jeffs had tacked on four second half goals, stretching Tufts' deficit to eleven on Martin's third goal of the contest.

However, Tufts was able to gleam some positive light from the end of the game.

"I was happy with how we played at the end," Kenney said. "We never rolled over and gave them the game. We fought back and played hard."

Miller's goal marked the first of two she would score, and she also added three assists in Tufts' late second half spurt. Hagge, junior Lauren Peach, freshman Ryan Killeen, and sophomore Jen Griffin also tacked on scores over the last fifteen minutes for the Jumbos.

Coach Rappoli was also pleased with Tufts' performance at the end of the game.

"Tufts' future was out there, and it looked good," she said.

However, the spark came too little and too late for the Jumbos.

"Up until halftime we thought we could get back into it, because in lacrosse four or five goals is not impossible to come back from," Kristan said. "If we had turned things around earlier or gotten some goals earlier, it could have been a different story."

Tufts, which was ranked 20th in the nation coming into the game, finishes up its season on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Kraft Field against Connecticut College.