With most of Tufts' athletes in action at home on Homecoming Saturday, the women's soccer team will have its most important game of the season at noon on Kraft Field. The squad takes on the nationally-ranked No. 14 Williams Ephs in a matchup that could decide the No. 2 seed in the NESCAC tournament.
By the end of the weekend, which also includes a Sunday match at Bates, Tufts will have played three games in six days, and the team knows that any fatigue will be exploited by Williams, which has not played since last weekend. With the Ephs looking to make a statement on the road, the Jumbos also know that concentration will be key.
"We need to stay focused for 90 minutes," junior midfielder Alyssa Von Puttkammer said. "I'd say we haven't done that yet this season. We've had spurts that were good but we haven't had a full game yet."
Tufts' stacked defense — which has managed three shutouts in six conference games — will face arguably its biggest challenge thus far with Williams' line of experienced strikers. Senior forward Brett Eisenhart has scored eight goals alone on the season — half of the Ephs' total — and will have to be a focal point for Tufts' back line. But, the Jumbos are coming off a 2-0 shutout of MIT on Tuesday and the defense is primed for another strong performance this weekend.
"[Our backline] is working as a unit much more now," senior co-captain midfielder Lauren O'Connor said. "That obviously comes with time. Most of them haven't played with each other before, so with time they are becoming more comfortable with each other and as a unit."
On the other side of the field, Tufts' attack has been boosted by the recent surge from sophomore forward Maeve Stewart, who now has four goals on the season with scores in each of the team's last two games. Moreover, the Jumbos have scored 1.7 goals per game while allowing just 0.9, a differential that will need to hold to form if the Jumbos hope to best the Ephs.
"Williams is really young this year, but they are always a great team, so we are going in expecting no less than they have given in years past," O'Connor said. "We've been looking really good on the offensive side of the ball as well as the defensive side. We are going to look to score goals early on and focus on our strengths."
"It's important to use our strengths to our advantage," Von Puttkammer added. "We are really fast up top, and when we move off the ball there aren't many defenses that can stop us."
Saturday also marks Senior Day for the team, which will provide an even greater boost in confidence to a team that is coming off two straight wins, as it continues its pursuit of the No. 8 Amherst Lord Jeffs, who are currently undefeated in the NESCAC and sit atop the conference standings.
"I'm expecting us to win," Von Puttkammer said. "We have a really solid team this year with a lot of really good players and I think individual-by-individual we are definitely better than [Williams] so it is just a matter of us putting it together as a team."
The team will also be in action Sunday against Bates, but with the Bobcats currently residing in the cellar of the NESCAC standings, the focus will be on Williams this weekend. An upset of the regional No. 2 Ephs could help propel the now-No. 5 Jumbos onto the national stage.
"It would be amazing [to get a win against Williams]," O'Connor said. "Especially on Homecoming and Senior Day, to get a win would be an indescribable feeling."
Ethan Sturm contributed reporting to this article.
