On Wednesday, the regional No. 6 women's soccer team traveled to Brunswick, Maine, and topped the Bowdoin Polar Bears 3−1 to secure home−field advantage in Saturday's NESCAC quarterfinal matchup against No. 12 Wesleyan. Despite cold, rainy conditions and a three−hour drive, the Jumbos pulled away from the Polar Bears with two second−half strikes.
The Jumbos had recently lost two heartbreaking 1−0 conference decisions that could have gone either way, and finished with a 0−0 standoff with Hamilton on Saturday, despite playing two overtimes.
"We have a very talented team and all of the elements to be a championship team," senior forward Jamie Love−Nichols said. "In the few games before Bowdoin, we couldn't quite get it together … So we knew going into our last regular season game that it was time to play like the team that we really are and that's what we did."
Determined to return to the win column in NESCAC play, Tufts came out with an aggressive game plan and immediately saw improved results. Less than eight minutes into the game, Love−Nichols took a cross from junior Alyssa Von Puttkammer and skillfully put it past Bowdoin sophomore goalkeeper Maddie Lane to give the Jumbos the first lead of the game and crucial momentum.
"Alyssa hit a great free kick from the right side of the field," Love−Nichols said. "[Sophomore forward] Anya [Kaufmann] deflected the ball past a defender perfectly to me on the back post and all I had to do was slot it in."
Halfway through the first 45 minutes, however, the host Polar Bears responded, equalizing with the help of freshman forward Amanda Kinneston at 22:53.
Kinneston retrieved a set piece played in by sophomore Becky Stoneman and headed it past Tufts sophomore keeper Kristin Wright and into the right post to knot things up at one.
"They had a free kick and we just didn't get organized fast enough, leaving a girl open to finish the cross," senior co−captain Lauren O'Connor said.
As the first half drew to a close, the score remained 1−1, although Bowdoin led Tufts 8−4 in shots and 3−0 in corner kick opportunities. Wright helped keep the score level, notching three first−half saves to Lane's one.
For much of the second half, play was back and forth. Each team had solid chances but was unable to convert until the 78th minute, when Tufts sophomore Sophie Wojtasinski chased a deflected Lane save and launched a shot past the Bowdoin keeper to once again put the Jumbos on top.
Tufts, which has worked to maintain focus and intensity late in the game this season, did just that, and after Wojtasinski gave the Jumbos the lead, Love−Nichols stepped up again to add an insurance tally.
In the 84th minute, the senior, playing in her last regular−season game, captured a loose ball in front of the net and again bested Lane to give the Jumbos a two−goal margin.
As time expired, the Jumbos walked off the field proud of a solid 3−1 conference victory. Both teams took 14 shots in the contest and had four corner opportunities, while both Lane and Wright finished the day with six saves apiece. With the win, the Jumbos improved to 7−4−3 and finished the regular season among the top four NESCAC teams for the eighth year running.
"I think we really put all the pieces together against Bowdoin, both playing quality soccer as well as passionate soccer," O'Connor said. "We'll be looking to carry that over into [the] playoffs."
The Jumbos have now set their sights on a run in the NESCAC tournament beginning on Saturday. As the No. 4 seed, Tufts will first host No. 5 seed Wesleyan, which they beat 1−0 at home on Sept. 17. Wesleyan brings a 9−5 overall record into postseason play, but all five losses have come against NESCAC opponents. Those include conference No. 1 Amherst and No. 2 Williams — which also defeated Tufts — plus No. 3 Middlebury and No. 6 Hamilton, two teams that Tufts tied.
In their previous meeting, O'Connor scored early in the second half to give the Jumbos the only goal of a tight contest. The Cardinals, in fact, frustrated the Jumbos for much of the game; in the first half, Tufts outshot Wesleyan 14−2 and came up empty on every attempt. Despite a more even−keeled second half, no team was able to find the net after O'Connor's tally.
"We have definitely grown a lot since seeing Wesleyan early this year," O'Connor said. "We know that when we play our best, we have the ability to beat any team in the NESCAC on any given day and our goal is absolutely to win the whole thing."
But both sides have improved since their early meeting. As a result, the Cardinals have won six of their last seven games and cannot be taken lightly.
"I think we have grown as a team throughout the season," Love−Nichols said. "While we've always had a wealth of talent and depth, we're now putting that together to play as a great team. Wesleyan is no joke but I have no doubt that our team will play like we did on Wednesday and put them away."
"We seniors have ended two of our three seasons in PKs in the quarterfinals of NESCACs," she added. "Saturday, we'll be coming out to win soundly in regular time."
