To be on the end of a penalty stroke defeat is one of the worst feelings in field hockey, and Tufts experienced that bitter result last year at the NESCAC Tournament against Trinity. But on Sunday afternoon, the No. 17 field hockey team capped off a NESCAC doubleheader weekend with a satisfying overtime victory at the No. 15 Bantams, partially making up for last year's loss and giving the squad a confidence boost in the process.
With the victory, Tufts closed in on the top ranks of the NESCAC standings and now own a 3-1 conference record, good enough for third place behind Trinity and national No. 3 Middlebury. Sunday's contest marked the fifth time in the two teams' last seven meetings that the game was decided in extra minutes.
The winning strike came in the 77th minute, when junior midfielder Emily Cannon launched a long-range shot from high on the right side of the circle up and into the Trinity cage, besting Trinity junior goalkeeper Anne Marie Scalambrino to end the sudden-death overtime period in the Jumbos' favor.
The goal marked Cannon's third goal of the weekend and of her Tufts career. The midfielder had notched her first two collegiate goals in the Jumbos' home victory the day before.
First-year forward Hannah Park opened the scoring for the Jumbos, completing her first collegiate goal off a penalty corner pass from Cannon to draw first blood for Tufts at the 16:11 mark.
"We had an offensive corner, and Emily [Cannon] took a direct shot," Park said. "I was able to get a tip in front of the goal, and the ball slipped right past her on [Scalambrino's] left. Going up early in the first half definitely allowed us to keep our momentum going."
The Jumbos held their one-goal advantage for the remainder of the half, and the host Bantams entered the second half trailing the visiting Jumbos 1-0. It took Trinity just five minutes into the second period to equalize. At the 40:38 mark, senior co-captain attacker Haley Thompson capitalized on a Bantam penalty corner to tie the game once more.
For the remainder of the half, both teams battled for the winning goal, with Tufts pressuring hard at Trinity's defensive end. Ultimately, however, the 70-minute period was not enough to decide the result. As the whistle signaled the end of regulation, the two teams, still in a deadlock, prepared for extra time.
"We had set the tone and pace for the entire game, and we knew that this was our game," Park said. "We had practiced overtime scenarios so many times, so it helped when it came down to a real one."
In a situation familiar to both teams, the Jumbos came out gunning. After a few missed opportunities, Cannon capped off a breakthrough weekend with an impressive strike to send the Bantams packing with their first conference loss of the season.
"In overtime, everyone worked really hard to get the ball upfield, and then Trinity was called for a foul," Cannon said. "I took the ball and dribbled to the circle to try to catch the defenders on their heels and hopefully get a corner, but as I got in, I tried to get a shot on cage that someone could tip it in or get a rebound. Mine just ended up going in instead."
On Saturday, the Jumbos opened the weekend strong in their first home appearance. With her first two collegiate goals, Cannon led the Jumbos to a strong 3-2 victory over the visiting Colby Mules.
Senior co-captain attacker LiaSagerman who struck first for the brown and blue. On a heads-up play, Sagerman pounced on a rebound in front of the goal, sending it past Colby goalkeeper Michelle Burt for her third tally of the season.
The Mules responded quickly, as freshman Ellie Donohue finished a deflected shot past Jumbos sophomore keeper Brianna Keenan to tie the game 8:45 into the match. Donohue's shot, however, was the only one taken by the Mules in the opening 35 minutes.
Then Cannon found the back of the cage to seize a lead for the Jumbos once again, and the host Jumbos, who outshot the Mules 19-1 in the opening half, entered the intermission with a one-goal advantage.
Halfway through the second stanza, Cannon struck again, this time on a backhanded shot assisted by first-year midfielder Alexandra Jamison. Colby cut Tufts' lead in half five minutes later on a strike from sophomore attacker KaitlynO'Connell.
"It was frustrating for them to keep coming back, but we took it as a learning experience to figure out what was working and what wasn't," Park said.
The Jumbos then regained their composure and dominated possession for the remainder of the game, finishing with a 33-7 advantage in shots and a 23-2 edge in penalty corner chances."We had so many shots and corners, but were having trouble finishing," Cannon said. "I think we knew that we had dominated the game and that if we kept doing what we were supposed to, we would be able to hold them off."
The dominant victory in the first of two doubleheader games set the tone for Tufts' strong outing at Trinity the following day.
Now, Tufts can sense the momentum heading into a mid-week non-conference contest with University of New England [UNE] and a looming matchup with No. 10 Amherst at home next Saturday.
"We play UNE on Wednesday. We've never played them before, so we don't know what to expect, but we're going to play with intensity and then look towards Amherst," Cannon said.
"We know that's going to be a tough game. We just have to go into it with confidence, knowing that nothing is going to come easily."
