It was a new experience for the women's soccer team as the squad traveled to Clinton, N.Y., for its first−everNESCAC matchup with Hamilton College. The Jumbos played well, but could not find the back of the net, instead settling for a scoreless draw with the Continentals.
"Yesterday was a good turning−point for us, even though a 0−0 result doesn't say much in that regard," senior left back Laney Siegner said. "We came together and we played really well, and it's hard to be really frustrated when we were creating chances. But the result didn't go our way. We struggled to be creative enough in that final third to get a really dangerous opportunity."
The matchup in New York created some new logistical issues for the Jumbos. Facing a car ride of over four hours, the team elected to spend Friday night at a hotel near the Hamilton campus. While it was a significant change in routine, the team took the opportunity as a bonding experience.
"The whole trip became this big event," Siegner said. "We left practice early, we created this ‘Fun Friday' video together for the bus. There was a lot of team bonding time, and I think that helped us on the field."
On game day, both teams got out to slow starts, with the Continentals earning more of the scarce scoring chances early on. Tufts sophomore keeper Kristin Wright was forced into three saves on just three first− half shots, while her counterpart, sophomore Liza Gergenti, only had to make two. The best chance came for Hamilton, as junior Charlotte Cosgrove volleyed a cross at goal that went directly at Wright. The game entered halftime with little further action.
Things began to open up in the second half, with both teams pushing for a winner. Tufts saw its best chance in the 67th minute, when senior forward Jamie Love−Nichols ran onto a long ball before powering it towards goal. Gergenti could only get part of her hand on it, but that was enough to redirect the ball off the post, preserving the shutout.
In the 70th minute, disaster nearly struck for the Jumbos when Wright bobbled a catch and let the ball slip past her. But sophomore right back Blair Brady rescued her keeper, barely clearing the ball off the goal line. Though the teams combined for 12 second−half shots and Hamilton earned three corner kicks in the latter 45, neither side was able to break through with a goal in regular time.
In the two overtime periods, Tufts came out hungry, outshooting the Continentals 4−2. The Jumbos had a golden opportunity for the win when, in the second overtime period, junior midfielder Alyssa Von Puttkammer put a free kick on the head of sophomore forward Maeve Stewart. But Gergenti was once again up to the task, making the save and preserving the shutout. In total, Gergenti — the NESCAC co−Player of the Week — made eight saves in the draw, while Wright had seven.
"We out−possessed them, we outworked them, we dominated the entire game, we just couldn't finish," senior co−captain midfielder Lauren O'Connor said.
With the draw, the Jumbos have now gone 324 consecutive minutes without a goal, the longest stretch of their season. After being shutout just twice in their first 10 games, they now have been shutout in their last three straight.
"I think we are just overthinking it at this point," O'Connor said. "It's weighing on us that we haven't scored in three games and we just have to stop thinking about that and play games. We know how to score goals; we proved that earlier in the season — we just have to have faith in our capabilities."
The rough stretch statistically has also coincided with a difficult part of the schedule. The Jumbos played a Saturday−Sunday doubleheader a week before making their longest conference trip to take on Hamilton. But the team sees these struggles as a chance they have not had in past years to make adjustments before the playoffs.
"In past seasons, everything has just kind of gone well, and then postseason comes and you get that one loss and suddenly the season is over," Siegner said. "This year we have been able to address things throughout the season and fine−tune our team's mentality."
Tufts finishes the regular season tomorrow when the Jumbos travel to Bowdoin. A win or draw against the Polar Bears would seal up the No. 4 seed in the NESCAC and a home game for the quarterfinals. A loss, combined with a Wesleyan victory, would drop the Jumbos to the fifth seed. While they will likely face the Cardinals either way, a game at Kraft Field is undoubtedly valuable: Tufts is 4−1−2 at home and only 2−3−1 on the road so far this year.
Despite the disappointing result, the team seemed content with the improvement in play they displayed on Saturday. Bowdoin offers the team one final tune−up before the NESCAC Championship, which Tufts is eagerly awaiting.
"We needed to prove to ourselves that we could play hard for 90 minutes, and at Hamilton every single person that stepped on the field for us played their hearts out," O'Connor said. "Now, moving forward, we just have to get back to our roots of possessing and not forcing opportunities, just letting them happen and putting it into the back of the net. Every year we have peaked too early, but this year I think we are going to peak at exactly the right time."
