On a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon, the field hockey team saw its chances to host a postseason game on its own Bello Field turf slip away. Twenty-four hours later, the Jumbos proved it didn't matter.
In an unsettling 3-1 loss to Connecticut College at home on Saturday, the Camels, only 1-7 in NESCAC play, blindsided the Jumbos with speed, skill, and intensity. Yesterday, Tufts traveled to fourth-seeded Wesleyan determined this time to keep its "eye on the ball", so to speak. And they saw it right into the back of the net.
With a definitive 2-0 shutout over the Cardinals, fifth-seeded Tufts nabbed its first postseason win since 2000 and will move on to the semifinals of the NESCAC Tournament to face third-ranked Williams next Saturday at Middlebury.
The Jumbos were led by center midfielder and junior tri-captain Lea Napolitano, whose two first half goals, netted only a minute apart, gave Tufts the only offense it needed. Completing the tri-captain contributions were assists from senior Dana Panzer and junior Jeanne Grabowski.
The game was tight early on, closely resembling the even play of last Tuesday's matchup between the two teams, which went nearly 90 minutes into double overtime before the Jumbos prevailed. Then, at the 18:30 mark, Napolitano hammered in the game-winner past Wesleyan sophomore goalkeeper Caitlyn Kelly. Only 63 seconds later, she gave the Jumbos an insurance goal when she converted an upfield carry for the score, her sixth of the season.
"It was anyone's game in the beginning," Panzer said. "It was really close, and then we just started to dominate. Everyone had a great game, and it came together for us."
With her assist in yesterday's game, Panzer broke the record for the most points in a single season, set in 1996. Panzer's twelve goals and nine assists, totaling 33 points, lifted her over Kate Mathey (LA '97) and into the Jumbo record books.
After the offensive run by the Jumbos, the game returned to a heated deadlock, with tight play from both defenses thwarting shots.
The Tufts backfield kept a Wesleyan offensive line that averages over 20 shots per game to only eleven and shut down two of the league's leading scorers, seniors Lousia Mook and Jenny Wasserman, who have combined for 14 of the teams' 42 goals this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Marilyn Duffy-Cabana saved six of the Cardinals' eleven shots, including two in the last five minutes as Wesleyan made a final push to keep its season alive.
"Even though we were up by two, the girls played hard the entire way through," coach Tina McDavitt said. "We knew they could come back at any moment, so we never took it lightly."
The Jumbos also struggled offensively the rest of the game. They attempted only seven shots, far below their season average of 19.2, but Napolitano's scoring proved more than enough of a cushion as they held off a Wesleyan comeback attempt.
Sunday's NESCAC schedule showcased the competitiveness of the league. Bowdoin, seeded second for postseason play, fell to seventh-ranked Colby, only 3-6 in league play. Because teams are reseeded every round, Tufts has avoided playing top-ranked Middlebury in the semifinals and will instead face the Williams Ephs, whom the Jumbos narrowly defeated in a 1-0 game last Saturday.
This unpredictability was also clear in Tufts' loss to Connecticut College on Saturday. In a day that was supposed to celebrate the team's four seniors and the dedication of Bello Field, the Jumbos found themselves overwhelmed by a Connecticut team that won only one other conference game this season.
The Camels scored early, when freshman Jill Mauer knocked a shot past Duffy-Cabana. The game headed into halftime with Tufts trailing only by one, with a comeback still very possible.
In the second half, Grabowski gave the Jumbos hope when she slammed a pass from sophomore Kathleen Martin around junior Ashley Kenerson to even the score. Momentum seemed to gather in the Jumbos' favor, as they racked up ten penalty corners in the second half, but were unable to convert on any of them.
But the Camels weren't done yet. With ten minutes remaining, senior Katie Roe knocked in the game-winner. Any chance of a comeback was quashed when sophomore Katie Williams rocketed in a shot from the top of the circle to give Connecticut its second league win and dispel the Jumbos' hopes of hosting a first-round playoff game.
McDavitt remains optimistic about the coming days, and views the team's turnaround from Saturday's loss as an indicator of renewed focus, intensity, and desire to win.
"The biggest change [from Saturday to Sunday] was definitely attitude," she said. "The girls were fired up about the loss, they were hungry, and knew they could play better. In NESCAC, it's anyone's game. We saw that against Connecticut, and I think we'll see it in the rest of the tournament."
