In front of a slew of scouts prepared to see the No. 2 Jumbos' new offensive lineup weakened without injured senior co-captain attackman Sean Kirwan at Bello Field Tuesday afternoon, the home team proved it has the firepower to win without him. Tufts never trailed in its 16-9 home opener victory over Conn. College, and eight different players scored for the Jumbos as they improved to 2-0.
Just as they had this past weekend at Hamilton, senior co-captain midfielder Kevin McCormick and sophomore attackman Beau Wood led the charge. McCormick exploded for five goals, while Wood scored twice and assisted on three more. Both now have consecutive five-point games, setting them atop the NESCAC in both points and goals per game.
But McCormick and Wood weren't the only ones making Kirwan's absence unnoticeable. Freshman Cole Bailey took the offensive reins behind the cage and delivered with two goals and an assist, looking much like his predecessor at the position, D.J. Hessler (E '11), while wearing Hessler's old number, 28, on his back. Sophomore midfielder Peter Bowers also added two goals and an assist, showing scouts that the graduation of Matt Witko (LA '11) hasn't resulted in the expected dropoff, either. Meanwhile, junior attackman Geoff Sheasby took over in the crease, converting on his only shot of the day.
"We came out firing, and the game went our way," Sheasby said. "But to fine-tune our offense, we just have to keep focusing on our fundamentals, coming to and through passes, looking for the one more and always having six threats to score."
The team certainly succeeded in spreading out its scoring attack, as seven Jumbos found the back of the net in the first half alone. Bailey opened the scoring for the Jumbos just over five minutes into the game, and though the Camels tied it up at the 7:49 mark of the first period, Wood, Sheasby, McCormick and junior midfielder Ryan Jorgensen would account for the game's next four tallies, giving Tufts a 5-1 lead with 12:55 left before the half. By halftime, two more Jumbos had scored and Tufts was comfortable with a 7-2 advantage.
Thanks in part to a 10-of-16 performance in the second half from faceoff specialist Chuck Czerkawski, the visitors were able to mount a comeback. After Wood and McCormick scored the third period's first two goals, Conn. College went on a 4-2 run fueled by miscues from Tufts' previously stellar veteran defense to pull within five, 11-6, by the end of the quarter. The Camels came within four on back-to-back goals from Andrew Freedman to make it 13-9 with 6:36 to play, but Bowers, Bailey and McCormick stretched the Jumbos' final lead to seven over the last 5:33.
Tufts outshot Conn. College 53-38 on the day, but sophomore goaltender Patton Watkins was the one who sealed the win. Watkins' incredible 21 saves (70 percent) - seven of which came in the fourth quarter - were some of the most impressive of the young keeper's career. Several of the saves came on wide-pen one-on-ones in the crease, though Watkins downplayed his own performance.
"Conn. [College]'s shooters had trouble finding good shots, and this made for a successful day in cage," Watkins said. "We also did an outstanding job denying Conn. [College] any second chances by being patient and decisive in the clearing game."
As encouraging as Watkins' effort was, the defense did struggle in transition late in the game. Tufts was just 5-of-9 on clearances with eight turnovers in the fourth quarter, and lost the ground ball battle 25-15 in the second half. With No. 4 Stevens and No. 9 Stevenson looming over spring break, the defense cannot continue to rely on Watkins' excellence to compensate for its own lapses.
"We weren't winning the ground ball battle, and that gave them a lot of opportunities that they capitalized on in the second half," Jorgenson said. "Ground balls will definitely be a focus this week, but that's no different from any other week. No matter who we're playing, one of our top priorities is to win that aspect of the game."
With two road games against top 10 teams on Saturday and Tuesday - and with the status of Kirwan, their leading scorer from 2011, still questionable - the Jumbos will have to string together four great halves to avoid an upset with national implications.
