Miller's offensive barrage leads Jumbos to victory

The women's lacrosse team got back on track in the NESCAC on Saturday afternoon, trouncing the Bates Bobcats 19-8 at Kraft Field. The win moved the Jumbos to 5-3 overall on the season and improved their NESCAC mark to 2-3, good for a tie for sixth place in the conference with Colby and Wesleyan. The loss dropped the Bobcats to 4-8 overall, including a dismal 0-7 in the NESCAC.

"We played very well as a team," sophomore attack Dena Miller said. "We finally pulled it together, and the offense played really well. We started strong, and we finished strong."

The win also snapped a three game losing streak, both overall and in the NESCAC for the Jumbos, who started off the season an impressive 4-0.

Tufts' 2-3 mark may be deceiving, however, because the team's three losses have come against three of the NESCAC's top four teams, and realistically speaking, the Jumbos should win three of its next four games to earn a fifth seed in the upcoming conference tournament.

Nine Jumbos found the back of the net against the Bobcats, contributing to Tufts' biggest offensive outburst this season. Miller led the team with six goals and an assist, while senior tri-captain Kristin Saldarelli and junior Megan Doughty chipped in with three apiece.

Junior Willow Hagge and sophomore Meredith Harris added two goals each, while senior tri-captain Christie Langenberg and freshmen Lauren Murphy and Danielle Vardaro each tacked on a goal.

"The fact that we had nine goal scorers really epitomizes our team," Miller said. "We have incredible depth both on and off the field, and everyone contributes to the team equally; there is no star player."

Both teams came out hot in the first half, scoring a combined total of eight goals in the first eight minutes. With 12:17 left to play before halftime, Miller notched her third goal of the period to put the Jumbos up by three. Bates senior Lori Jessup answered Miller's goal to bring the Bobcats back within two with ten minutes left in the half, but that would be as close as Bates would get.

The Jumbos went on to score three more goals in the final five minutes of play to bring the score to 9-4.

Unlike last season, when the squad squandered many halftime leads, the Jumbos continued their strong play through the second 30 minutes to earn the victory. The two teams went goal for goal for the first nine minutes of the half, making the score 14-8 Tufts with 11:26 left on the clock.

The Jumbos then proceeded to put the game away, scoring five straight times to secure a 19-8 victory. Included in those scores was Murphy's first career collegiate goal.

"Last year, one of our big weaknesses was letting down in the second half," Miller said. "Everyone on the team knows that one of our major goals this season is to come out and dominate the first ten minutes of each half, and we really did a good job of that on Saturday."

Junior Sarah Lipson and freshman Jaime Hartman-Boyce split time between the pipes for the Jumbos. Lipson got the win, playing more than 53 minutes and allowing eight goals while recording seven saves. Hartman-Boyce spent the last 6:30 in the net for Tufts, allowing zero goals without recording a save.

This week will be one of the most important stretches of the season for Tufts. The squad faces off against NESCAC foes Wesleyan and Colby, and the outcomes will be crucial in determining the Jumbos' playoff seed. Tufts takes on Wesleyan on Wednesday afternoon at home at 4 p.m., and Colby on Saturday at home at 1 p.m.

"This is our time to pick up the momentum," Miller said. "We're coming off hard losses against three of the top teams in the NESCAC. We're going into a week against teams we know can be beat, and we have every intention of beating them.