On Saturday, the women's soccer team scored twice in the first half and once more in the second to down Conn. College 3-1 on Kraft Field, improving to 5-2-2 on the season. The win propelled the Jumbos into second place in the NESCAC standings, following losses by Williams and Middlebury.
Tufts had lost 2-0 to non-conference foe Endicott earlier in the week, and was determined to come out of the gates fast. The Jumbos did just that, pressuring the visiting Camels early and often.
In just the 10th minute, junior Alyssa Von Puttkammer sent a dangerous corner kick into the box. Senior co-captain Lauren O'Connor corralled the delivery and drilled it past freshman goalkeeper Natalie Signor, inside the far post, giving Tufts a quick lead.
"We've been working a lot on corner kicks, so on those we have a lot of people in the box bodying up against the defense," Von Puttkammer said. "On Lauren's goal it wasn't much of a surprise that she was able to get on the other end of it and put it in."
Tufts continued to dominate play throughout the first 45 minutes, and had the ball for the majority of the opening period. In the first half alone, the Jumbos outshot the Camels 17-4, and demonstrated the intensity that they lacked at Endicott last Tuesday.
They peppered Signor, forcing the first year netminder to make five saves for the Camels.
"We were all pretty disappointed in ourselves from the Endicott game and we kind of wanted to channel that energy into playing as well as possible on Saturday, and that was one of our main motivations for how we played in the first half," sophomore Maeve Stewart said.
"That's the kind of soccer we want to strive to play every game for the rest of the season."
Despite several close calls, however, the Jumbos were unable to add to their lead until nearly 25 minutes later. Then, in the 33rd minute, senior Alix Michael took a pass from freshman Alina Okamoto. Michael used her left foot to boot a long-range shot up and over Signor to give the Jumbos a two-goal margin that stood as time expired in the first period.
"One of the things that [head coach] Martha [Whiting] said to us was, ‘Everything you wish you could have given to the Endicott game, give it now,'" Von Puttkammer said. "That kind of got us pumped up and we used our frustrations to come out really strong against Conn. College."
Early in the second half, Tufts, still playing with a sense of urgency, looked to add on to its lead, and Stewart stepped up to answer the call. In the 51st minute, senior Jamie Love-Nichols tapped a pass to Stewart, who buried a shot in the back of the net for the Jumbos' third tally of the day.
Stewart's insurance goal was comforting but ultimately unnecessary, as the Jumbos' defense allowed only one slip-up for the remainder of the afternoon.
Fifteen minutes after Tufts extended its lead to 3-0, Conn. College freshman Astrid Kempainen assisted on teammate Grace Bilodeau's sixth goal of the season, which she buried past junior keeper Phoebe Hanley.
"It was pretty disappointing that they scored on us. I think we played so well that we maybe got a little complacent," Stewart said. "Our goal is really to keep our focus and keep playing our game at the level we want to play for the full 90 minutes."
The 3-1 mark held for the remainder of the second half, but Tufts' first-half performance was far more dominant than its play in the second period.
While Tufts' defense limited the Camels to just one goal, Conn. College improved markedly in the second period. Hanley was forced to make two saves to preserve the margin, and the Camels also outshot the Jumbos in the second 45 minutes.
"Right now we're just trying to score goals," Von Puttkammer said. "That's the biggest thing. And we just want to play with heart and use the first half against Conn. [College] as a model [for] how we can play and just bring that for the next few games."
Today, the Jumbos will travel to MIT for a non-conference matchup with the Engineers. The Jumbos will look to bounce back from last week's non-conference loss and tack on their sixth win of the season.
"Last year we didn't get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, so all of the out-of-league games are very important to us this year," Stewart said.
"That's definitely a motivation for Tuesday's game and it will also prepare us for our future NESCAC games."
