Jumbos get decisive win at Wesleyan

The women's soccer team ended a three game slide in conference play on Tuesday in Middletown, Conn. with a 2-1 victory over the Wesleyan Cardinals. The win puts the Jumbos back on track in the NESCAC, giving them a 7-3 overall record and a 3-3 league mark heading into Saturday's bout with the Williams Ephs.

"It felt good to finally win in the NESCAC again," junior Becky Greenstein said. "Hopefully, this win will be the start to our new winning streak."

The 2-1 score, however, was really not indicative of the overall atmosphere of the match. While the Jumbos did not play their best soccer, they dominated the Cardinals in all aspects of the game, most notably out-shooting Wesleyan 22-2. Tufts junior keeper Meg McCourt was not pressed to make even one save in the entire 90 minutes of play.

The Jumbos came out strong in the opening minutes, something they have failed to do over the past two weeks.

Tufts got a quick goal just 2:30 into the game, setting the tone of the contest and giving the Jumbos the early upper hand.

"The early goal was really important for us, because all too often we've been waiting for the other team to score to pick up the intensity and start playing," sophomore Sarah Callaghan said.

The goal came on a set play designed in practice the day before the game. Greenstein took a short corner to Callaghan, who dribbled it up the line and drew a defender. She sent a pass back to Greenstein, waiting to her right, just 15 yards from the net. Greenstein then bent a perfect shot from a tough angle past Wesleyan keeper Jenny Hipscher and into the back of the net.

"We had been a little inconsistent on offensive corner kicks, so we designed this play to give us another option," coach Martha Whiting said. "Becky and Sarah executed it perfectly, even better than in we did in practice. Becky has a great shot, and when she puts her head down, she can really rip it."

The Jumbos worked hard throughout the rest of the first half, keeping possession of the ball and controlling the tempo of play. Callaghan spent the entire frame patrolling the midfield in the center.

"Sarah does a great job of distributing the ball in the center," Whiting said. "She gets her head up and moves the ball quickly. She is a really smart player and did a really nice job. This is not the last time this season that you will see Sarah Callaghan in the middle."

Despite controlling the game, the Jumbos suffered a defensive lapse 28:10 into the first frame. Wesleyan took advantage.

Cardinal striker Natalie Cohen sent a ball into the Tufts zone from about 30 yards out. The Jumbo defenders swarmed the ball, but were unable to clear. Wesleyan forward Sarah Hopkins was waiting in the box, and quickly took possession of the ball and drilled a shot past McCourt to knot things up at one.

"Wesleyan is a very scrappy, hardworking team," Whiting said. "They always play the good teams tough, and I must give them credit. They played hard and had spurts where they played really nice things."

That's the way the first half would end, with the score deadlocked at one apiece.

Knowing that they could not leave Wesleyan with anything but a win, the Jumbos came out firing to start the second half.

After playing the first forty-five minutes as a center midfielder, Callaghan started the second half at her normal position, left forward, a change that immediately paid dividends.

Reigning NESCAC player of the week, junior Jen Baldwin, took the ball down to the end line, beat a few defenders, and slotted it to Callaghan, who was looming six yards away from the goal line. The sophomore quickly gained possession and sent the ball into the back of the net giving Tufts the lead for good.

The Tufts defense clamped down after Callaghan's goal and did not allow a single shot past the backline for the rest of the game. As the final buzzer sounded, the Jumbos walked off the field victorious, 2-1.

"Overall, we controlled the tone of the game," Whiting said. "But I wish we had scored a few more goals. But hey, we scored more than they did which is all that counts."

The Jumbos look to ride the momentum of this victory into Saturday's battle at in Williamstown, Mass. against arch rival Williams, who currently sits tied with four other teams for first place in the conference.