It wasn't a nail-biter, but excitement was in the air last night as the field hockey team defeated Conn. College 8-1 and junior forward Tamara Brown broke her second record of the week, taking the title for most career goals scored in the program's history. The dominating victory boosted the Jumbos' current record to 10-0 and 6-0 in the NESCAC.
Brown posted her second consecutive hat trick yesterday to pull her career goals total to 46, putting her two above the previous record held by Aryn Landau (LA '90). Her point total also stands at 105 after tallying an assist in the match, a category in which she surpassed the previous program high on Saturday against Colby. Both feats are even more astounding considering Brown is only halfway through her junior season and that she recorded only five goals as a freshman due to a severe ACL tear.
On the Jumbos' third goal of the game, Brown tied Landau's record by slamming one into the back of the cage after a failed clear by a Camel defender. Less than three minutes later, she struck again, converting a clean pass from Kelly into her 12th goal of the season. Brown would later add the final Tufts tally on the day with 23:43 to play to give her the hat trick.
"I'm really glad I've gotten the opportunity to do this," Brown said. "But, once again, I think a lot of the credit goes to the team because they're the ones giving me the good passes and I wouldn't be able to do it without them. So, it's really a team honor."
"It's a testament to the program and to the team," coach Tina McDavitt added.
And the strength of the rest of the Jumbo squad is undeniable, as the offense has racked up 24 goals in the last three games while the defense has let up just one. Against the 3-6 Camels yesterday, five Jumbos scored and the team outshot its opponent 28-6 and led 15-2 in penalty corners.
"I think we really focus on taking shots at the top of the circle and always being options for each other as forwards, and I think that has been a big reason for the high number of shots and goals," Kelly said.
The first score came from senior forward Michelle Kelly, who was assisted by junior midfielder Jess Perkins just 5:46 in. The immediate attack by the Jumbos' offense was met with defensive panic by the Camels, who gave up two consecutive penalty strokes after using their bodies to block Kelly's next two shots. Conn. College senior goalie Steph Quinn was able to deny Brown on the first, but senior midfielder and co-captain Margi Scholtes put one past her into the left corner to give Tufts the 2-0 lead after just over nine minutes of play.
The Camels' only shot on goal in the first half was easily saved by sophomore keeper Marianna Zak, and Tufts left the field for halftime with a 4-0 lead.
Kelly and the Jumbos came out of intermission in the second half on the attack again. After just two minutes, she found the back of the goal to make it 5-0.
Sophomore midfielder Lindsay Griffith also added some offensive spark in the second half, scoring a goal and assisting on senior co-captain Amanda Russo's goal as well.
"We have been connecting really well lately, and it's exciting when we do so well against a strong NESCAC team," sophomore defender Taylor Dyer said. "I think we're building momentum for games to come in the season."
The shutout escaped the Jumbos when the Camel's sophomore Hannah Wagner put one past junior goalie Katie Hyder off a cross from classmate Sierra Olney. Both Hyder, who played the second half for Tufts, and Zak had one save on the day.
As the team prepares to face arguably its most threatening opponent in the nationally ranked No. 5 Trinity College Bantams on Saturday, another strong defensive showing will be crucial.
"Trinity obviously is a huge, huge game," Brown said. "They're undefeated, we're undefeated, and I think it's good we got this game behind us and can spend the next two days focusing on that. I think we can do it, but it will have to be our best game yet; even though we're scoring a lot we need to continue working on finishing and obviously we always want to get the shutout."
Despite the lack of significant defensive challenges from their last few opponents, the Jumbos are confident they're fully prepared to stop whatever the Bantams bring at them on Saturday.
"I think our defense has been really strong and composed; we scrimmage a lot in practice, and I think that really helps preparing for games," McDavitt said. "Our defense always steps up in big games, and I'm confident they will step up against Trinity."
The pressure will be on for Tufts. Last year the team only narrowly defeated the Bantams in two overtime matches.
"I think we just need to come out mentally prepared because we've been doing a good job taking our game to our next level every time a new opponent comes around," Kelly said. "I really think there has been a mental shift every year as we expect more from ourselves. We just want more each season, and each year I've been here we go further and further to pick up where we left off."
