Jesslyn Jamison and Ali Maxwell, women's soccer
This weekend, the women's soccer team was riding a five-game win streak that had turned the 2006 season completely around, reversing an inauspicious 0-2-2 start.
NESCAC rival Trinity threatened that streak this weekend, staying one step ahead of the Jumbos in the two teams' Saturday match-up. The Bantams got 1-0 and 2-1 leads before surrenduring an own goal that evened the score at two.
Enter a pair of Jumbo freshman, Jesslyn Jamison and Ali Maxwell (right). Prior to Saturday's game, Jamison had gotten field time in eight of the Jumbos' nine games, and Maxwell had come off the bench in all nine Tufts contests. But neither had notched a collegiate point.
Jamison, a midfielder from Berkeley, Calif. had sent one shot at opposing goalkeepers this season, but made her second shot count, sending a powerful kick over the head of Trinity junior goalkeeper Tara Finucane in the 55th minute to put the Jumbos ahead for good, 3-2.
Maxwell would pad the lead in the 72nd minute, hitting the top left corner of the net to provide the final 4-2 margin. The two rookies picked a good game to break out; with the win, the Jumbos moved to 6-2-2 overall, and 4-1-2 against NESCAC opponents, and have turned a disappointing start into a championship contention season.
Chris Decembrele, football
For the third year in a row, Chris Decembrele is carrying the Tufts defense, leading the team in tackles and offering valuable leadership to one of the NESCAC's best defensive squads.
The senior quad-captain turned in a dominant performance for the Jumbos in an otherwise lackluster 17-0 loss to Trinity, recording 13 tackles, 3.5 of them for losses. Decembrele was a first team All-NESCAC defensive end in 2005, and is once again proving to be one of the conference's top defensive players. Saturday's 13-tackle performance brings him to 34 tackles on the season, good for sixth in the league.
In Saturday's game, Decembrele was faced with the daunting task of containing Trinity senior Gennaro Leo, the conference's leading rusher and reigning Player of the Week. Leo turned in a solid performance, running for 81 yards on 20 carries, but Decembrele was the one bright spot on the Jumbos' line, consistently stopping Leo in his tracks.
Leading the Jumbo defense in tackles is nothing new for Decembrele, who has led the way in three of Tufts' first four games. In each of the Jumbos' two home victories to open the season, as Tufts first beat Hamilton and then topped Bates, Decembrele posted a team-high eight tackles. The Tufts captain is making a strong case for a return to the All-NESCAC first team.
