It was a season of ups and downs for the women's lacrosse team.
There were moments this season when the team, led by graduating senior co-captains Alyssa Kopp and Jenna Abelli, appeared to have enough talent to contend with any team in the NESCAC, if not the nation. The high point may have been on April 10, when an 11-9 win on the road against the previously undefeated and nationally ranked No. 4 Trinity, marked by a hat trick from graduating senior Emily Johnson, vaulted the Jumbos into the national top-10 rankings. But ultimately, the team fell short of its goals, losing to Amherst in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament and cutting its season short.
After starting off the season at a disappointing 1-2 clip, the Jumbos came into an April 24 match-up with Middlebury having reeled off nine consecutive victories and with a lofty No. 6 national ranking. But after a 13-9 loss to the Panthers, followed by a thrilling come-from-behind 11-9 win at Bowdoin, the Jumbos finished in a four-way tie for second place in the NESCAC at 6-3.
A series of tiebreakers left the Jumbos drawing the short straw — a No. 5 seed, to be exact — and a tough road game in the first round of the conference tournament against Amherst. Tufts trailed in that game from the outset and ultimately fell 11-9.
A team that started the season as one of the favorites in the NESCAC ended up on the ropes in its hopes for an NCAA bid. But the selection committee eventually decided not to place the Jumbos — a team with road victories over No. 4 Trinity and No. 14 Bowdoin — in the NCAA Tournament.
Although the season did not end as the Jumbos had hoped, the team is still proud of its efforts.
"I think starting off we had a slow start, but then we really came together as a team and pulled together some wins, like the Trinity game and coming back from a five-goal deficit at Bowdoin," Abelli said. "We had a great group of girls and had that winning streak, which showed how good we could be. We played hard every game and don't have any regrets."
The highest-scoring team in the NESCAC — a squad that spent the majority of the season in the top 15 — ended up on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament. It didn't help that Williams, which finished the regular season behind the Jumbos in the standings, and which Tufts demolished 17-7, ended up winning the unpredictable NESCAC Tournament, lowering the amount of available at-large bids.
"Usually, the NESCAC gets three bids, but this year they only got two," Abelli said. "Had [No. 1 seed] Trinity won the tournament, since we had a better winning percentage than Williams maybe we would have gotten in. But I'm not surprised [that Williams won]. In the NESCAC, any team can really win; it's who comes to play that day. There was no undefeated power this year: Even Trinity, the top team, had two losses."
While the final result of the season may have been disappointing for a team with aspirations of making noise in the NCAA Tournament, the 2010 team still put up some impressive numbers. The Jumbos led the NESCAC in goals with 13.53 per game, in assists with 6.20 per game and points with nearly 20 per game. In fact, the Jumbos dominated in almost every area of the NESCAC stat sheets, leading in draw controls and ground balls per game as well.
The one area with which the team struggled was with goaltending, as rising senior Sara Bloom saw her save percentage drop from .503 in 2009 to .397 this season. Tufts finished the year last in the NESCAC with a .386 save percentage and second-to-last in saves per game with 6.53.
The Jumbos' top two scorers graduate today: Second Team All-NESCAC attack Johnson, who led the conference in points per game and tied for the lead in goals, and Abelli, along with the team's best defender in Kopp, who finished 2010 with 39 ground balls, 39 draw controls and 26 turnovers, good enough for her to be named to her second straight All-NESCAC first team.
But even with so much talent graduating, the Jumbos appear poised to contend in the NESCAC again in 2011. The team will return nine rising juniors, including Steph Perez, who was named to the NESCAC First Team and finished the season third in the conference in draw controls, as well as classmates Lara Kozin and Casey Egan, who will look to anchor the offensive attack.
"I think we definitely are excited to step up to the challenge," Perez said. "We've been the biggest part of the team because there are so many of us, but it will be nice to bring it to the forefront and start being leaders."
Combine the performance of this talented trio with the return of Bloom, who will hope to improve on her 2010 campaign as one of three captains next year, and Tufts looks to have the ingredients of a winning team next spring.
"Every year, you always lose seniors," Perez said. "Last year [in 2009] we lost four incredible seniors as well. But everyone gets a role, and as time goes on, we all fit into that role. Plus, we have some talented freshman coming in."
"The sophomores [are] the biggest class on the team, and they will all have more experience," Abelli added. "The three senior captains are going to do a great job holding the team together, so I think we'll see great things from them next season."
