Tufts and Trinity both own undefeated 8-0 overall records and 5-0 records in the NESCAC, but a closer look at the scores in each team's contests this season leaves no question that the Jumbos are the favorites tomorrow afternoon, when the two teams will face off in Hartford, Conn.
Trinity doesn't let up a lot of goals, but it doesn't score like Tufts, either. The No. 14 Bantams just barely pulled out a win over No. 18 Wesleyan on Wednesday afternoon, scoring the winning tally in the last 32 seconds to come out on top 7-6. Meanwhile, Tufts beat Wesleyan 15-8 on Saturday. Trinity's 5-0 conference record also includes a 9-7 win over Bowdoin and a slight 6-5 victory over Colby, who the Jumbos beat 14-9. Trinity also took down Lasell 13-5 — a team Tufts put 23 goals past on March 15.
The Jumbos have scored 32 more goals than the Bantams this season. Tufts' quick-passing style of offense should give Trinity trouble. Almost half of the goals Trinity has allowed have been off assisted plays, and for a team that only allows 6.88 goals on average, conceding that type of goal could be a recipe for disaster.
"It's probably a result of the run and gun tempo we play at," junior attackman Jordan Korinis said of Tufts' high-scoring games. "And if things go right, we can get them to play at our tempo. It doesn't really matter if it's a high score or low score; it just matters if we end up with more goals than them."
Tufts' aggressive, fast-tempo defensive style may also be the perfect match for a more conservative Trinity offense. On the season, the Bantams have managed only a meager 27-percent man-up scoring percentage, a good sign for the Jumbos, who have the league's worst penalty-killing percentage due to their offensive-minded style.
"We don't game plan too much about other teams' offenses," senior quad-captain longstick midfielder Alec Bialosky said. "We just want to get back to our fundamentals of communication, sliding quickly and recovering. We want to be getting on the ball and being good adjacent players."
One factor that may prove to be Tufts' Achilles' heel against Trinity is underperformance in the third quarter. The Jumbos typically barely tread water in the third, outscoring opponents just 25-24, while the Bantams are just the opposite, dominating opponents by a 19-7 mark. In the past, Tufts has gotten complacent after halftime, allowing teams to claw back into games that looked sealed shut; both WNEC and Bates tallied six goals on Tufts in the third. Against a team like Trinity, giving up an edge in any quarter could prove disastrous.
"It's definitely one of the things that we've been focusing on," Korinis said. "It's not about them; it's more about us. We just have to keep our focus and intensity up for that third quarter. It's no different than any other part of the game. We just can't get too comfortable if we're ahead."
Despite its post-halftime struggles, the squad knows that a victory would place it alone in first place and in prime position to be NESCAC regular season champions — a feat none of the current players has experienced.
Tufts faced a similar situation last year, but ended up losing — its only loss of the season — to last season's regular-season NESCAC champs Conn. College when a combination of pressure and a dreaded third-quarter momentum change gave the Camels an 8-6 win. The Jumbos will have to score early and often and keep up the pace in the second half to fend off a Bantam squad that undoubtedly wants nothing more than to upset the top team in the country.
"It's really exciting," Bialosky said. "It's the same as last year going into the Conn. College game thinking it was our chance to have the No. 1 spot and the No.1 seed heading into the tournament, which we haven't done in my four years here. … It's important that we're excited about it, but it's also important that we treat it like any other game."
Korinis agreed that the team had to have perspective going into the matchup.
"Obviously it's big because one of our goals is to host the NESCAC Tournament," Korinis said. "But overall, it's a big game because it's the next game, and I know everyone's just really excited about it."
