One game into the 2012 season, it looked like it would be a long fall for the 0?1 Jumbos, as Tufts traveled to play national No. 1 Middlebury and gave up five straight goals to their conference rivals in a 5?2 loss. But ironically, in the end their season was the longest of any Div. III field hockey team's. On Sept. 8, they got blown out, but on Nov. 18, they claimed that No. 1 spot for themselves.
Yesterday, Tufts stormed past Montclair State to become the 2012 Div. III National Champion, seizing its 19th win of the season in historic fashion. The Jumbos became the second Tufts team to win an NCAA team title and the first women's team to do so.
"To win a national championship has been a dream for all of us and is a testament to what a great team this is," senior co?captainLiaSagerman said. "It has truly been the definition of a total team effort and perseverance. We had to earn every win this season, and to get to this final game and come away with the 'W' was the perfect ending."
"I just can't believe it," head coach Tina McDavitt added. "We've been to the final four ?? this is our third time, and losing in double overtime [in 2008] was devastating ... I knew we could do it, but getting here has been a battle. It's been a tough season. Every game we had to really earn it, and we did.
Tufts used its depth to overcome each obstacle and fought its way through to the final whistle, representative of how the Jumbos have played all season. Several players bodied hard shots, while others dusted themselves off after being taken down hard in transition.
While five seniors led the team throughout the season, it was freshman forward Hannah Park who stepped up to knock both goals in on Sunday. Midway through the second half, Tufts had used five substitutes, while Montclair had used just one, and the Jumbos' trust in one another manifested itself in their play. On Saturday and Sunday combined, freshmen accounted for all four of the Jumbos' goals, as well as two of their three assists.
"This is definitely a dream come?true," Park said. "I remember this summer just thinking how awesome it would be just to make it to the national championship. Just being here has been awesome, the entire thing."
The game was a culmination of a whirlwind playoff schedule. In the past three weeks the Jumbos played eight times and won seven, including five straight elimination games. Despite a grueling schedule, exacerbated by freak snow storms and six?hour drives to and from Geneva, New York, Tufts stayed mentally and physically tough.
"Watching Montclair [in Saturday's semifinals], I have a lot of respect for [coach] Beth [Gottung] and her team, and their awesome, very fit, great field hockey players," McDavitt said. "I knew it was going to be a battle but I was also confident in my team and I knew if we came out to play ... that we were going to win."
The Jumbos pressured early and had a chance for an early lead when Sagerman sent a cross into senior forward Kelsey Perkins, who met the ball in front of the cage. The ball ricocheted around but the Jumbos, unable to put it in, were awarded the game's first penalty corner. Junior midfielder Emily Cannon received the ball on top of the circle and sent it to freshman midfielder Dakota Sikes?Keilp, but the duo was unable to find the cage on consecutive corners.
After their initial control of the team, things turned bleak for the Jumbos when the Red Hawks struck first in the 11th minute. Receiving a corner insert, junior co?captain defender Sierra Rauchbach sent a ball across to senior forward Frances Schaefer near the right side of the cage. Sophomore goalkeeper Brianna Keenan and senior defender Rachel Gerhardt blocked Schaefer's initial shot, but she collected her own rebound and took a risky, low?angle shot that slid past Keenan and into the back corner of the cage.
"[At that point] we just talked about playing our game," McDavitt said. "I think this season we've had a lot of challenging games, playing in the NESCAC. A lot of games, we've been tied 0?0 or down by a goal, and this team has had to work through that and been able to get goals later in the game or come back from a deficit. I just had confidence in them that they would do that. We talked about just playing our game plan, working the ball to the outside and shutting down their key players."
Five minutes later, the Jumbos converted on a penalty corner of their own. Sikes?Keilp received the insert at the top of the circle and sent a rocket at senior goalkeeper Megan Bosland. Executing a skill they have worked on all season, the Jumbos controlled the loose ball as Park grabbed the rebound and notched the tying score.
From then on, momentum shifted. Minutes later, Park looked to double the Jumbos' lead as she sent a pass in front of the cage, but no one was there to receive the ball on the back end.
Then, with fewer than 10 minutes remaining in the half, Gerhardt delivered the ball into Montclair's end and attempted to connect with Park and sophomore forward Brittany Norfleet inside the circle. The pass was broken up, but the Jumbos earned yet another penalty corner.
Perkins inserted to Sikes?Keilp on top of the circle, and the freshman drove in with another hard shot. In a heads?up play, freshman midfielder Alexandra Jamison gathered the deflection and pushed it to Park, who finished the shot, pushing the Jumbos ahead of the Red Hawks.
"My goals were both off of corners," Park said. "My first one was a rebound off the goalie, and I was able to get it into the far post. My second one was a deflection off a shot."
Trailing 2?1, Montclair tried to force the issue as the half drew to a close. The Red Hawks pushed the ball in transition and earned a quick penalty corner. Receiving the insert, junior midfielder Jennifer Tafro wound up and took a strike at goal, but Keenan made the stop. Montclair grabbed the rebound and sent another shot on cage, but Gerhardt backed Keenan up, making a crucial defensive save on the near side of the cage to preserve the Jumbos lead.
Seconds later, Keenan would be tested again as Montclair State was awarded a penalty stroke for a body ball, but the sophomore, who made a penalty stroke stop in last week's quarterfinal win over Bowdoin, stood confidently. Under the pressure, junior midfielder Stephanie Lewis butchered the strike, sending it wide left of the cage. The Jumbos could breathe easy again, and neither team threatened in the final five minutes of the period.
After the intermission, the Jumbos looked to add to their lead with an insurance goal, but the Red Hawks possessed for nearly 10 minutes. Junior midfielder Stephanie Wan gave the Jumbos a chance in transition, pushing the ball up to junior forward Chelsea Yogerst as she approached the cage, but Montclair's defense was able to trip up the forward, regaining possession.
At a critical moment, the Red Hawks earned another penalty corner. As the ball was inserted, Cannon came out of the cage to make a challenge at the top of the circle. Tafro slipped by and threaded a shot through Tufts' defenders and into the cage. For a split?second it appeared the Red Hawks had tied the contest. But in a game?changing decision, the referees conferred and called the goal back, citing Montclair's premature entrance into the circle.
Montclair went on to earn four consecutive penalty corners in the offensive series, but struggled to convert. In a tense period of play, Keenan made three quick stops on the goal line to deny Tafro and junior midfielder Brooke Hullings the chance to tie.
That would be the last real shot Montclair had to pull the game level. In the final 24 minutes, the Jumbos played excellent lock?down defense and allowed the Red Hawks just a single shot on goal.
"As always, our forwards played awesome defense and our backs worked really hard at breaking up Montclair's plays before they reached the 25?yard line," Keenan said. "Our defense did a great job of working together and channeling the other team so that if one defender got beat, another girl was right there to stop her. They also did a great job of stepping up and pressuring the Montclair offense, and not letting them get many good shots off."
In transition, the Jumbos attempted to push up to Park, but Bosland broke up the connection, coming out of the cage to kick the ball away. Tufts continued to push, and as Sagerman fought to turn the ball in transition, she was tripped up and taken down hard.
Showing evident signs of pain, the senior refused to quit and fought through her final minutes of collegiate play, helping the Jumbos break into the circle for one last chance to score. Following an unsuccessful backhanded shot from Sikes?Keilp, sophomore midfielder Maggie Chapman took a series of corner inserts, but the Jumbos were unable to connect for a final goal.
Fortunately, they had all they needed. In the closing minutes, Montclair was called for several penalties, including a yellow and a green card. The cards allowed the Jumbos to use numbers to their advantage, and Tufts completely stifled the Red Hawks' ability to move the ball.
"I just think it was an attitude back there [on defense]," McDavitt said. "[Senior defender] Liza Wetzel and Rachel Gerhardt and Bri Keenan are so solid in the backfield, and they were just determined to keep it out, even when they had that stroke against us. We were doing everything we could to keep them off the board, and it was just a total team effort."
As the Jumbos controlled possession, the final seconds resembled a game of laid?back keep?away more than a national championship game, as Tufts played its man?advantage out, knowing that an NCAA title was theirs at long last.
The victory came on the heels of a 2?0 semifinal defeat of DePauw University on Saturday, during which the Jumbos took down the only team to have beaten Middlebury this season. But the final game was a more fitting testament to the Jumbos' journey over the season ?? it showcased their refusal to give up, even when trailing, and in their balanced, team?oriented approach that made them so hard for opponents to mark and shut?down.
"The game was a total team effort," Park said. "Everyone came out ready to play. This entire season, we've been thought of as the underdogs, but today we proved that we can accomplish anything."
For the seniors, the championship was the culmination of four years of hard work and disappointment, which often ended in heartbreaking NCAA and NESCAC losses, frequently by a single goal.
"This season has been an incredible ride, with all its challenges and triumphs," Perkins said. "I really can't think of a more fitting ending. It's a huge victory, not only for the 22 girls on our team, but also for our amazing trainers, coaching staff and the members of [Tufts University field hockey] who came before us and raised the standards for our program. So many factors have to align for any team to win a national championship, and we could not be happier to represent all the Jumbos, past and present, with the win."
In some ways, luck was on the Jumbos' side this season. DePauw's defeat of Middlebury in last week's quarterfinals certainly opened up the field and made the national title theirs for the taking.
The championship came mainly out of the Jumbos' ability to rely on everyone on the field at any given time, though. Their grit and depth made them impossible to defend and dispirit.
"We couldn't be more proud of our team or our coaching staff," Sagerman said. "We appreciate all the love and support we've received this season from everyone at Tufts, and we're so excited to be able to bring this home for the Jumbos."
Four years ago, the Jumbos lost to Bowdoin in a devastating 3?2 NCAA final. Three years ago, the Jumbos exited in the semifinals. Two years ago, it was the round of sixteen that did them in. Last year, Tufts did not even get a shot at the NCAA tournament.
This year, the only bump in the road came as a 4?1 NESCAC semifinal loss to Bowdoin, and it was evident on Sunday that the Jumbos' season opener was nothing more to them than a pair of numbers on a stat sheet.
Sometimes, a short memory is the best weapon.
