It was a day of firsts for the Tufts field hockey program. Not only were the Jumbos kicking off their season against NESCAC opponent Colby, but they were doing so in the first contest on their new turf field, and in head coach Tina McDavitt's Tufts debut.
With four minutes left in the first overtime period, another first occurred: Senior Jayme Heller knocked home a cross from classmate Jennie Sachs for the first and only goal of the game, beginning the new era in Tufts field hockey with a 1-0 win.
While Tufts controlled the ball possession and tempo of the game for 84 minutes, the team could not convert its solid play into a score until the overtime dagger.
Sachs was dribbling down the left wing when she found Heller across the field.
"Jennie had it on the left when I called for it on the right side," Heller said. "It was just me and the goalie then, and I tried to put it in the opposite corner."
Last year, the team lost six games by one goal en route to its disappointing 5-10 finish (3-6 NESCAC), including a double overtime loss to Colby. In hoping to reverse that habit, this year's team got off to a solid start in its season opener.
"It was definitely my goal to turn [last year's] one goal losses into wins," McDavitt said. "This team stays positive and has a winning attitude, and they went out and did that today."
As the game got under way, Tufts gained control with superior passing and ball control skills. The difference between the Jumbos' turf style possession game and Colby's hit-and-chase style became evident immediately, as Tufts' new Bello field clearly provided a home-field advantage over the Mules, who play on grass at home.
"We love the turf," junior forward and tri-captain Lea Napolitano said. "You can use your skills on it more, and Colby's used to playing on grass, which gave us an advantage."
Senior midfielder and tri-captain Dana Panzer agreed.
"The turf was definitely a factor," Panzer said. "We were really used to the surface and were passing around them."
Napolitano and Panzer paced the Jumbo attack throughout the game, dribbling and passing around a Colby squad that seemed to be reactive and playing on its heels. Colby's flatness was in part a product of the Brown and Blue's aggressive defense. Most of the game was played on the Colby side of the efficient ball control, but when chances did materialize for the Mules, the Tufts defense was solid.
Sophomores Marilyn Duffy-Cabana and Angela Rappoli split the goalkeeping duties for the Jumbos. Both played well to earn played on the Colby side of the field due to Tufts' efficient ball control, but when chances did materialize for the Mules, the Tufts defense was solid.
Sophomores Marilyn Duffy-Cabana and Angela Rappoli split the goalkeeping duties for the Jumbos. Both played well to earn the shutout, with Duffy-Cabana finishing the game with a total of five saves.
"Coming off a quad injury, it gave me a lot of confidence to play well today," Duffy-Cabana said. "Our defense played well, which made my job easy."
Each goalie is coming off preseason injuries, and McDavitt plans on continuing to let them share time until she sees someone step up and earn the spot.
"Both are great keepers," McDavitt said. "It will be hard for me to pick a starter."
Heller, sophomores Tracey Rittenour and Stacey Watkins, and senior Tracey Samko played strong defense for the Jumbos as Tufts swarmed Colby's best scorer, senior forward Wendy Bonner, attacking with double teams and refusing to give many chances to the Mule star.
Bonner had 15 goals last year; the next highest scorer on Colby finished with just three. While Bonner had chances in Saturday's game, the Colby offense lacked the cohesion and passing skills that gave Tufts so many chances.
Nonetheless, the Jumbos were unable to capitalize on those opportunities until Heller's game breaker. This may have been the one sour note on an otherwise perfect day for Tufts. Despite having many more scoring chances than Colby, the Jumbos had 15 penalty corners compared to the Mules' eight, but still were unable to score in regulation.
"We played really well today," Panzer said. "We passed well and played good defense, but we have to capitalize earlier in the game."
After christening their new home with a win, the Jumbos look to carry their momentum into the second game of the season when they host non-conference foe Wellesley on Wednesday.
"This win proved to us that our hard work is really paying off," McDavitt said. "Now we just need to keep building."
"I think [the win] will really push us forward," Panzer added. "It was a very important game, and we deserved it."
