The No. 2 field hockey team, which received five first-place votes in this week's NFHCA poll, continued its smooth start with a conference win on the road this past Tuesday. Tufts took down Wesleyan, 3-0, outshooting the Cardinals 19-6 and finishing the day with 12 penalty corner opportunities.
The victory, which marked Tufts' 11th straight over Wesleyan, elevated the Jumbos to a perfect 3-0 in the conference.
"Our game against Wesleyan ... helped us to click as a team," sophomore forward Hannah Park said. "We adapted well to the field and used each other for support to get the three goals."
The host Cardinals held their own for much of the first half, forcing the Jumbos to work hard on their offensive possession and corner opportunities. In the 27th minute, however, senior All-American center midfielder Emily Cannon took a rebound to the rack, beating Cardinals sophomore netminder Sara Grundy and notching her second goal of the season to put the Jumbos up, 1-0.
Despite a 12-1 edge in first-half shots, Tufts led by just one goal at intermission. But Tina McDavitt's squad roared out of the break, turning up the pressure in the second period of play.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, the Jumbos broke through once again. Sophomore forward Allison Rolfe worked the ball down the right side of the field and, just before reaching the end line, sent a cross in to senior co-captain forward Chelsea Yogerst, who tipped in her third goal of the season to double Tufts' advantage.
Less than five minutes later, the Jumbos pushed their lead to three. Sophomore Dakota Sikes-Keilp, who leads the team in scoring, pounced on a loose ball at the top of the circle. The midfielder fired a bullet past Grundy and into the net for her fifth goal of the season.
The Tufts defense turned away a late Wesleyan penalty corner in the 70th minute and marched off the field to the tune of a three-goal victory.
Junior goalkeeper Bri Keenan made three saves for the Jumbos in one of her most eventful outings thus far.
"Wesleyan is a really strong team that does a great job of putting pressure on, especially on hits coming out of the back," junior defender Colleen Golja said. "I think we adjusted well during the game and began to see passing patterns that ultimately led to our success."
This weekend, the squad enjoys some rare time off, with no game scheduled for Saturday afternoon. In the meantime, the Jumbos will focus on remaining rested and healthy going into next Tuesday's tilt against UMass Dartmouth. Their next conference action comes on Sept. 28, when the Jumbos travel to Amherst, Mass. to take on the Lord Jeffs.
