A late push was not enough for the women's lacrosse team on Sunday, as the squad was eliminated from the NESCAC Tournament by Amherst, 11−9. Playing on the road against a hot Lord Jeffs team that was coming off a win against NESCAC top seed Trinity, the Jumbos were held to single−digit scoring for only the fourth time all season.
The tough loss may be the last game Tufts plays all season; the four Jumbo seniors on the roster now must wait until next week to find out whether they will receive an at−large bid to the NCAA Tournament and have the chance to extend their careers.
The Jumbos, after waking up at 8 a.m. for the three−hour drive to the Amherst campus, had a sluggish start on Sunday, allowing the Lord Jeffs to jump out to an early 3−0 lead. Tufts did not score until over 10 minutes into the first half, when senior co−captain Jenna Abelli netted one off an assist from sophomore Casey Egan.
"It all started with not controlling the ball in the 10 minutes," senior Emily Johnson said. "They were just winning draws and controlling possession, and we really didn't have a chance to respond."
Tufts eventually did come back from the early deficit, however, plowing its way out of the three−goal hole by scoring three of the next four goals in the contest — including three from Abelli and one from Egan — to tie the game at four. But the Lord Jeffs regained control of the game in the minutes leading up to halftime with a three−goal flurry, led by two from sophomore Allie Horwitz, who led all scorers on the day with four tallies.
Amherst kept Tufts at a distance for most of the second half, until a late two−goal spurt from the Jumbos narrowed the lead to two. But ultimately, the Lord Jeffs were able to limit the league−leading Tufts attack with a methodic approach and hold on for the win.
"One main thing was that they slowed us down on their attack," Abelli said. "They pretty much ate up the possession, and we were on defense for most of the game. In the second half we came out with more of a sense of urgency, but Amherst was patient on attack and with shot selection."
While the Jumbos actually finished the game out−shooting the Lord Jeffs 22−18, Jumbo junior goalkeeper Sara Bloom had two saves, compared to eight from Amherst's sophomore netminder Lamia Harik, a testament to the efficiency of the Amherst offense. Another contributing factor to Amherst's domination of possession was a perfect clearing rate on 14 attempts.
After being held to only seven shots in the first half, the Jumbo offense got back on track a bit in the second half, when it took fifteen shots, two of which ended in goals from Johnson and Egan in the late−game comeback. But on a scorching hot day, Tufts just ran out of time.
"We started winning a lot more draw controls [in the second half], but the conditions today were very tough," Johnson said. "We're normally a very fast team, but we weren't so fast today."
The loss was Tufts' second to Amherst this season; an 11−8 defeat back in early March opened up the team's schedule. After a logjam of four teams — including both Tufts and Amherst — ended the regular season at 6−3 in the NESCAC, it was decided that Sunday's game would take place at Amherst after a series of tiebreakers was applied. Despite an 11−9 win over Bowdoin on Friday, in which the Jumbos outscored the Polar Bears 8−2 in the second half, Tufts found itself playing on the road Sunday as the No. 5 seed.
After Sunday's win, Amherst will face Colby next weekend in the NESCAC Tournament semifinals, while the Jumbos await word from the NCAA selection committee. After spending most of the season with a high national ranking, the Jumbos hope that the committee will give them one final chance to make a run.
"We've been in the top 10 for the last couple weeks, and if we get [to the NCAA Tournament], we can definitely do great things and go far," Johnson said.
While Sunday's contest may be the last hurrah for the 2010 Jumbo squad, Abelli is proud of the way the team competed, even if the first−round defeat was a letdown for a team that opened the year with national championship aspirations.
"I don't think we have any regrets," she said. "They're a great bunch of girls, everyone played their hardest, and even if it's our last game, I wouldn't be disappointed."
