The field hockey team has certainly benefited from a lull in its schedule since facing two nationally ranked opponents over its first three games of the season. Over the past month, the Jumbos have feasted on inferior, non-conference competition and NESCAC bottom-feeders, outscoring their last seven opponents by a whopping 35-3 margin.
Beginning this weekend, however, birds of prey are migrating north towards Bello Field — the undefeated Trinity Bantams.
Two of the nation's top five teams will battle for first place in the NESCAC when No. 3 Tufts hosts No. 5 Trinity tomorrow at noon on Bello Field. The Jumbos and Bantams are currently deadlocked atop the NESCAC standings with just three conference games left, meaning tomorrow's Senior Day tilt could go a long way towards deciding which squad ultimately claims the NESCAC regular season crown. Both teams are unbeaten in Div. III.
"We've obviously seen a lot of success so far, and we're ready to be challenged a little bit more," junior defender Amanda Roberts said. "At this point in the season, we're starting to peak, and I think everything is starting to come together. That just makes it exciting to play teams that have also been successful this season."
The red-hot Jumbos could probably not have picked a better time to meet their toughest challenge of the season. A squad that was having some trouble converting on a plethora of scoring chances at the beginning of the year has lit up the scoreboard over the past 10 days, tallying a total of 24 goals on 97 shots in recent runaway wins over Wellesley, Colby and Conn. College.
"I think we're bringing some really good momentum into this game," Tufts coach Tina McDavitt said. "I'm pleased with the goals we're scoring, not only the amount but also the quality shots that we're taking. I felt like we were dominating games earlier in the season, but we weren't finishing. We've just been able to make some adjustments, so I think we're in really good shape offensively."
"Looking at the scores from our past three games, it really shows that our offense is clicking," Roberts added. "A lot of people criticized us in the beginning, saying that we had a lot of shots but that we weren't capitalizing, and now we are. It's not that the shots weren't there before, but now we're just making them count."
The Bantams, meanwhile, enter tomorrow's contest with a good amount of momentum themselves, courtesy of a 10-0 record that featured early-season wins over nationally ranked No. 11 Middlebury and No. 20 Keene State, as well as a victory last week at third-place Williams.
But Trinity has its sights set on more than just continuing an impressive start. After suffering two overtime losses to the Jumbos in 2008, including one in the semifinals of the NESCAC Tournament, the Bantams are also eyeing their shot at revenge.
"Are we pumped to come play Tufts?" Trinity coach Anne Parmenter said. "Hell yes, we are."
"There's been a history of really close competition with them, with the two overtime games from last year," she continued. "[A win] would be huge."
Trinity has proven formidable on both the offensive and defensive ends. A pair of junior forwards, Christy Bradley and All-American Robyn Williams, have powered the Bantams offensively; each ranks amongst the conference's top five scorers this year. Meanwhile, in net, Trinity boasts the reigning NESCAC Player of the Week, sophomore Gina Dinallo, whose .891 save percentage is tops amongst conference goalkeepers.
"Certainly, at Trinity, there's no question that this is the best team I've ever coached," said Parmenter, who is in her ninth year at the helm of the Bantams. "If we knew the magic ingredient, we'd try to replicate it every single time. It just seems to be working this year, which is great."
On display tomorrow will be two vastly different styles of play. While the Jumbos operate offensively by spacing the field and relying on superior passing ability, the Bantams look to create one-on-one opportunities for their skill players. Trinity's unique approach is sure to challenge a Tufts defense that has yielded only two goals in the month of October.
"Trinity has a very distinctive style of play, and I think it's interesting when you have to play a team that's very different from you in terms of the fundamental style," Roberts said. "They utilize their one-on-one skill very effectively across the field, so they're always looking to isolate their defenders and beat them. It's definitely going to be tough for our defense, but we're going to step up and hopefully come out on top."
Tufts' matchup with the Bantams will begin a crucial stretch that will carry the squad through the end of the regular season. Following a midweek game against non-conference foe Gordon, the Jumbos will travel to third-place Williams and fourth-place Bowdoin on successive weekends, with the latter contest against the Polar Bears sure to be an emotional rematch of last year's NESCAC and national title games. After a long hiatus from playing its top competitors, Tufts is eager to finally get a crack at some of the conference's upper echelon teams.
"I think our team plays really well against hard competition, so we're really looking forward to these games," McDavitt said. "All three of those games are going to be a challenge for us, and it's going to be good for me as a coach to see how the girls react and how they step up their games. It'll be really fun."
