The No. 13 field hockey team is on a roll, and on Saturday, the Jumbos rallied in front of a Homecoming crowd for their second overtime victory in just seven days. After defeating Trinity with a strike in the 77th minute last Sunday, Tufts returned home to host No. 12 Amherst and defeated the Lord Jeffs 4?3 in extra time, as senior co?captain Lia Sagerman tapped in the winning goal during the first overtime.
With the victory - the Jumbos' seventh straight - the team improved to 4?1 in the conference. Tufts remains locked in third place behind No. 2 Middlebury and No. 17 Trinity.
And while it was Sagerman who capped off the win, fellow senior Kelsey Perkins paved the way for the Jumbos, laying down a three?goal performance in regulation to set up the extra time scenario.
The win marked the first for the Jumbos this season in which they were not the first team to score. Early on, the visiting Lord Jeffs had control of the game, and had a golden opportunity to score, only to be denied by Jumbos sophomore goalkeeper Brianna Keenan.
But Amherst capitalized on the pressure shortly thereafter, as the Lord Jeffs were awarded a penalty corner opportunity. Senior tri?captain Katie McMahon scored off a rebound to put Amherst up 1?0 at the 7:47 mark.
Tufts responded immediately. Just five minutes later, senior co?captain Rachel Gerhardt knocked the ball into the circle and Perkins drilled a shot into the lower left corner of the cage to equalize for the Jumbos.
"When they scored first we didn't let it get to us," Sagerman said. "If anything, it gave us even more fire. We prepared and worked hard leading up to the game, so we were not going to give up just because they scored first."
But the Jumbos could not keep Amherst at bay before the half. Ten minutes later, Amherst sophomore forward Ellie Andersen recaptured the ball after a defensive save from Gerhardt and tapped the ball in to the back of the net. The goal meant that the Jumbos entered halftime trailing at home for the first time.
"Since Amherst scored the first goal of the game it was imperative that we started converting offensively," Perkins said. "The whole team really stepped up with a sense of urgency and put the pressure on. At the beginning of the second half we knew we had to score right away."
After the intermission, Tufts came out with a new intensity. Sagerman and Perkins connected four minutes into the second half to tie the game in the 39th minute.
Then, just two minutes later, Perkins fired on cage again. After taking a shot, the senior followed up on her own attempt and finished a look past sophomore keeper Rachel Tannenbaum for her third goal of the day.
"Both of those goals were a result of the entire team working together to put the pressure on their backs and move the ball up the field," Perkins said. "Our forwards controlled the ball on the baseline and were able to put the ball into the stroke spot where the shooting angle is best."
Midway through the second half, the Lord Jeffs retied the lead on a penalty corner strike from junior midfielder Alex Philie, who deflected a pass from Andersen into the cage.
In the closing minutes of regulation, the Jumbos dominated possession but were unable to find the back of the cage. Tufts and Amherst entered the overtime period locked at 3, but the Jumbos held the edge in extra time experience.
"Going into OT against Trinity [last Sunday] prepared us for Saturday's game," Sagerman said. "Overtime is sudden victory, so we just wanted to put the ball on cage as soon as we could."
In their second overtime game in a week, the Jumbos came out cool?headed against the Lord Jeffs, who had not yet played an extra?time contest. Four minutes into the first overtime period, the Jumbos were awarded a penalty corner. Sagerman redirected a feed from sophomore Maggie Chapman to secure Tufts' seventh straight victory and preserve its perfect record at home.
"I think we've really progressed as a team throughout the season," Sagerman added. "We have done an excellent job of improving each day and taking the mistakes from previous games and fixing them. Our constant fight and determination says a lot about the heart of our team."
The Jumbos dominated possession - as they have all season - and outshot their opponents by a 21?10 margin, taking a 16?9 edge in penalty corner opportunities. The victory, which came against an evenly matched NESCAC opponent, solidified the Jumbos' position among the top ranks of the conference and the Div. III rankings.
Next, Tufts hits the road again to take on conference rival Conn. College next Saturday. The Camels are below .500 in the NESCAC and sit seventh in the conference rankings, but the Jumbos know not to take any NESCAC opponent lightly.
"The win on Saturday was huge for us, especially with regard to putting ourselves in a good position for NESCACs," Sagerman said. "But now we have to turn our focus to Conn. College. Our conference is so competitive and every game counts."
