The field hockey team stepped off Campus Avenue Field at Bates on Sunday afternoon victorious, having won both of its NESCAC conference games this weekend against the Williams Ephs at home and the Bobcats on the road. The Jumbos are now 6−2 in the NESCAC and 10−2 overall with a five−game winning streak.
Coming into Sunday's game at Bates looking to extend their winning streak to five, the Jumbos began the afternoon with a goal by junior forward Kayla Murphy in the 17th minute.
Murphy, who has been plagued by injuries this season, contributed two tallies to the Jumbos' 7−1 win. Senior co−captain forward Lindsay Griffith and freshman forward Brittany Norfleet also chipped in a goal each, while sophomore forward Chelsea Yogerst and junior forward Missy Karp each had two assists.
Junior forward LiaSagerman scored three goals in the second half of the game, giving her a total of five goals over the weekend and the title of leading scorer on the team with 10 this fall.
"As forwards our job is to score," Sagerman said. "When the whole team clicks, we put the ball in the goal."
On the defensive end, senior goalkeeper Marianna Zak played the entire game and allowed just one goal, with sophomore defender Emily Cannon making a defensive save early on to keep Bates off the board. The Jumbos only allowed the Bobcats five shots and three penalty corners all game, while taking 44 shots and 13 corners themselves. The Jumbos' defense was dominant from the top−down, and even the forwards got into the mix.
"Our defenders are rock stars," Sagerman said. "Bates had really good movement down the field, but our defenders played with so many layers. This year we've focused on the forwards as the first line of defense."
Earlier in the weekend, Tufts came away with a 6−0 victory against Williams in a game that took place amid a lively crowd on Homecoming. Sagerman and Griffith each scored two goals for the Jumbos, while junior midfielder Rachel Gerhardt and senior co−captain defender Taylor Dyer contributed one goal each in the shutout. On top of her goal, Gerhardt had two assists in the game, setting up each of Griffith's tallies.
Perhaps just as importantly for the team, Homecoming brought family, friends and alumni to the crowd and a new dynamic to the field. It was a tender moment for the team's four seniors — Griffith, Dyer, Zak and defender Sarah Cannon — when they were honored before the start of the game.
"For the four seniors, it was extra special," Griffith said. "We are just now realizing that we are guaranteed only two more games and after that it's up to us. We're not ready for it to end, so we're going to keep playing for as long as we can."
The Jumbos dominated their home turf offensively and defensively, firing 26 shots to the Ephs' 12 and earning 14 penalty corners to the Ephs' six. The team's impressive number of penalty corners, which the squad has been practicing almost every day, created four of Tufts' six goals.
"We came out guns blazing," Sagerman said. "Our main goals are the same in every game: Score early and play tough hockey."
And score early they did — five of the six Jumbos goals were recorded in the first half, starting with Sagerman's unassisted goal in the first six minutes of the game. Tufts boasted 19 shots at halftime and held the Ephs to only two.
But Williams came out with a vengeance in the second period, posting 10 shots on goal in the final 35 minutes. Although the Ephsoutshot the Jumbos in the second half by three, Tufts preserved the shutout. Griffith scored the sixth and final goal of the game, and the only goal of the second half, off an assist by Gerhardt on a penalty corner in the 57th minute.
"The second half, Williams came out fighting and we got caught on our toes just a little bit," Griffith said. "We were still playing great hockey — we just weren't able to get the ball in the cage as frequently as we did the first half."
The back−to−back wins this weekend set the Jumbos up for a big game on Saturday, as they face Hamilton on the road in the penultimate contest of the regular season. Hamilton — despite sitting at seventh in the conference and coming off a loss to cellar−dwelling Colby on Saturday — is one of only two teams to claim a victory over national No. 8 Amherst this season.
Regardless, the seemingly unstoppable Jumbos are excited for some fierce competition.
"We are going to go out there and play our best and hopefully walk away with a win," Sagerman said.
