The No. 7 field hockey team's 14?game win streak came to a screeching halt on Saturday afternoon when No. 6 Bowdoin, seeded third in the NESCAC tournament, defeated the Jumbos 4?1, eliminating them from the conference tournament.
With the victory, Bowdoin coach Nicky Pearson's squad avenged a 3?1 road loss to the Jumbos just two weeks ago, the two teams' last regular season game.
Things started out well for the Jumbos. Tufts pressured early, and senior co?captain Rachel Gerhardt took three shots on cage, two of which drifted just wide. Bowdoin senior co?captain goaltender Kayla Lessard stepped out to make three big stops in the opening minutes, briefly preserving the scoreless tie.
Just over four minutes into the game, senior forward Kelsey Perkins notched her ninth goal of the season, sending a shot past Lessard to give the Jumbos a 1?0 advantage. But the lead was short?lived.
It took the Polar Bears just over a minute to respond to Perkins' strike with a goal of their own. Junior forward Katie Riley, Bowdoin's leader in points, sent a penalty corner in to freshman midfielder Kim Kahnweiler. Kahnweiler launched a shot at the cage, but Jumbos sophomore keeper Brianna Keenan made a quick stop.
Still pressuring, freshman forward Rachel Kennedy took another shot on goal and this time was rejected when Gerhardt made a heads?up defensive play. Eventually, though, the Polar Bears broke through when Riley's second effort made it past Keenan, tying up the game at the 5:42 mark.
"Bowdoin rebutted right away and took the ball down to the other end, quickly got a corner and scored," junior forward Chelsea Yogerst said.
"They continued on the attack for the next couple of minutes and scored on three more corners. The ball tends to move faster on Astroturf, so it was hard for our defensive unit to adjust to the speed when trying to defend the ball."
Bowdoin seized the lead in the 13th minute when junior midfielder Molly Paduda connected with classmate Lauren Schroeder for the Polar Bears' second straight goal.
The lead ended up being insurmountable for Tufts.
"After we went up, we were excited, but I think then we thought we were okay and got complacent," junior midfielder Emily Cannon said. "They got corners and converted and we had difficulty stopping them because they were executed so well."
The game quickly got out of hand for the Jumbos. In the 14th minute, Bowdoin broke through again after a flurry of corners and shots from Riley. Just two minutes after taking a 2?1 lead, the Polar Bears doubled their advantage when Kennedy knocked one home to push the score to 3?1.
Tufts coach Tina McDavitt immediately called for a timeout to slow Bowdoin's momentum and settle her team down. In the ensuing minutes, Kennedy and Bowdoin senior defender Brooke Phinney were each awarded cards for aggressive play, allowing the Jumbos to open up some much?needed space.
Perkins took four penalty corners, and the Jumbos' best chance came on a shot from Gerhardt, but Lessard stepped up to make the save and preserve the Polar Bears' two?goal margin.
Bowdoin turned the ball downfield, and in the 25th minute Kennedy knocked home her second goal of the game. After the 15?minute assault, the scoreboard read 4?1, and when the Jumbos were unable to convert on their scoring opportunities in the closing minutes of the half, the team entered halftime in one of its deepest holes of the season.
Tufts came out of the break hoping to make up some of the deficit, but the Polar Bears played efficient and stifling defense. Ten minutes into the second stanza, Lessard rejected shots from junior midfielder Emily Cannon and Gerhardt to keep the Jumbos at bay.
Lessard made a third stop in the 58th minute when Perkins' corner went out to Gerhardt. For the third time, however, Gerhardt was unable to find the back of the net, again thwarted by Bowdoin's veteran keeper.
The game's closing minutes were surprisingly devoid of action, as the Jumbos struggled uncharacteristically to pressure and piece together scoring opportunities. The Polar Bears took one more shot at Keenan, but Phinney's attempt went wide of the cage, and the score remained 4?1.
"The tempo wasn't slow in the second half, but there was a lot more pressure from both teams and defenses so there weren't as many opportunities to score," Cannon said. "It was frustrating that we couldn't really get anything going because it was so back?and?forth for the entire half."
Tufts got one last chance to score when senior co?captain Lia Sagerman sent in a penalty corner, but it was just not the Jumbos' day, as Gerhardt's shot went just wide.
Despite the senior's persistence throughout the game, she was unable to find an opening.
The final minute dragged out slowly, and when it was all said and done the Polar Bears had avenged their regular season loss with a mighty NESCAC semifinal victory, dashing the Jumbos' hopes of a spot in Sunday's championship game.
"It is frustrating because we have never been able to beat Bowdoin twice in one season," Yogerst said. "We are always very evenly matched, but this loss has given us motivation to play even better in the future."
For the Jumbos, it is now a waiting game, as they listen for this week's announcement of the NCAA tournament bids. A victory over Bowdoin would have significantly improved their chances of sneaking into the at?large field, but the Jumbos remain confident that they can make the best of the situation if they are given an opportunity to continue their season.
It is possible that the Jumbos could face a non?conference opponent midweek in a play?in game, which would most likely be played at Bello Field on home turf. If the Jumbos are awarded such an opportunity, a victory would propel them into the next round of the NCAA tournament.
"Our regional ranking will determine if we get a bid for NCAAs," Cannon said. "If we do get a bid and are ranked third in our region, we would have a play?in game on Wednesday. If we are ranked second in our region, we will most likely have a bye into the Sweet 16. But looking forward to either situation, we have to go back to our fundamentals and... will rebound right back."
