The Tufts women's soccer team won its first game of the season last Tuesday versus Keene State, but its first NESCAC victory has been more difficult to achieve. Another opportunity fell to the wayside on Saturday afternoon when nationally ranked No. 5 Amherst dashed the Jumbo's upset hopes 1-0.
Deadlocked at 0-0 after the first half, the Jumbos could not shut down the vaunted Amherst offense for the entire game. The Lord Jeffs, who averaged 2.60 goals per game last year, came out aggressively in the second half and overwhelmed the Tufts defense.
It took a phenomenal save, one of seven on the day, by senior goalkeeper Kate Minnehan to keep Amherst off the board in the second half. The Jeffs dominated possession throughout the early part of the half, with Tufts barely getting the ball past midfield.
"I don't think it was them stepping it up, but we just started the half really poorly," sophomore defender Cleo Hirsh said. "There was no energy. We really didn't come out with a lot of force and they did a good job picking up where they left off in the first half. We just sort of fell back and were complacent with how we had played in the first half."
It was only a matter of time before Minnehan was tested again, and in the 52nd minute she could only get one hand on a shot from Jeffs junior Kyla Woodhouse. The deflection went to her classmate, junior Jackie Hirsch, who deposited the ball into the net for the game's lone score.
The Jumbos had trouble getting their offense going, though sophomore forward Jamie Love-Nichols was denied on two attempts from the edge of the box by Amherst sophomore goalkeeper Allie Horowitz. Tufts would spend much of the second half trying to generate offensive plays from its midfield without much success, until a series of last ditch efforts in the final 10 minutes of play.
Senior co-captain Whitney Hardy came in off the bench and almost tied the game up with two attempts, including one where Horowitz was out of position, but she could not put the finishing touches on her efforts. Tufts had one final chance on a free kick by junior Sarah Nolet with roughly three minutes remaining, but Amherst managed to clear the ball out from in front of the net.
"We had some really good opportunities," Hirsh said. "[Senior co-captain Cara Cadigan] made some really nice runs and Jamie, too. We definitely picked it back up towards the end, but at that point it was kind of too late. We had some really close chances but we just didn't have the luck."
The Jumbo's chances to knot the score up included a series of near misses in the first half. The Jumbos offense looked its most dynamic in the initial 45 minutes, with several shots going just wide of goal. Cadigan had the best look in the 27th minute, but her shot went wide off her left foot.
"That has been a problem we encountered all last year," sophomore Lauren O'Connor said. "We are having a little difficulty finishing, but that will come with time and confidence and being a little more comfortable."
Despite pressure, the Tufts defense looked steady, with Nolet, junior defender Carrie Wilson and Hirsh playing well and keeping the Amherst offense under wraps. The Jumbos held last year's NESCAC Player of the Year, senior midfielder Meg Murphy, mostly in check, and shut down the forward duo of Woodhouse and Hirsch early on. The Jeffs' best chance of the half came in the last minute on a free kick from the right side, but Minnehan grabbed the ball after a scrum in the box.
"I think that in the first half we did a good job of playing defense all over the field so they weren't really connecting as well," Hirsh said. "In the second half we stopped pressuring all over the field from front to back. We just weren't giving them as much pressure, so those forwards took advantage of that."
For Tufts, the loss is the second consecutive one goal defeat to a NESCAC heavyweight, after the team opened the season with a 2-1 overtime loss at Middlebury. The Jumbos will look to return to their winning ways on Wednesday versus Wheaton, and then hope the in-conference schedule will get a tad easier with trips to Wesleyan and Bates in the next two weeks.
"To an extent I guess it is a bit disappointing, but then again what it really comes down to is how you finish the season and not start it," O'Connor said. "Come tournament time when we see these teams again we will be a lot better and more prepared."
