Coming off consecutive losses to NESCAC opponents at home, the women's soccer team traveled to Endicott and defeated the Gulls 3-0 in one of its most complete performances of the year.
Tufts entered Tuesday's matchup in need of a win after dropping two tough games last weekend to NESCAC rivals Trinity and Middlebury. The Jumbos came out firing, outshooting the Gulls 10-5 in the first half alone, and playing with passion from the opening whistle.
The Jumbos started off the scoring in the 16th minute. Junior midfielder Nikki Blank found a seam in the defense and delivered a through ball that found freshman forward Jess Capone. Capone laced a one-timer that snuck past the outstretched glove of Endicott's junior goalkeeper Katie Donnelly and into the back of the net. The tally, Capone's second of the season, gave the Jumbos the early advantage.
"I would say losing those two games this past weekend upset us," junior defender Catharine Greer said. "We knew we had to come out very strong and show other teams how we can actually play if we're playing our best game, and I think we did that Tuesday."
Tufts continued to apply the pressure throughout the opening frame, and it wasn't long before they capitalized on another opportunity. Senior defender Blair Brady lofted a cross into the box, prompting Donnelly to come off her line and go for the punch-out. Donnelly was unable to get a hand on it, and instead the loose ball fell to the feet of senior forward Anya Kaufmann. Kaufmann calmly passed the ball into the open net to give Tufts a 2-0 lead.
The Gulls made a switch at halftime, swapping Donnelly for senior keeper Natalie Wyrsch. Wyrsch held her own in net, but like her predecessor, wasn't able to keep the Jumbos off the scoreboard.
In the 73rd minute, Capone, already with one goal under her belt, sprinted past the Endicott defenders on an open breakaway. With only the keeper to beat, Capone blasted a shot into the lower left corner of the goal. Wyrsch dove to her right and initially was able to smother the ball just as it was crossing the plane. But as the keeper recovered from her dive she fumbled the ball just enough for it to cross over the goal line. The tally was Capone's second of the game, third of the year and gave the Jumbos a commanding 3-0 hold on the contest.
To its credit, Endicott was able to muster up some quality chances, but Tufts senior keeper Kristin Wright was stellar on this afternoon, saving all four shots on goal en route to her third shutout of the year.
"We definitely played one of our most dominant games," Kaufmann said. "We controlled the ball, controlled the pace of the game, we were able to set the tone. A lot of that had to do with the intensity we came out of the gate with. We were ready for this game."
With the taste of two consecutive NESCAC losses removed following Tuesday's dominant outing, the Jumbos will look to regroup as they prepare to host Connecticut College on Saturday. The Camels are coming off a momentous victory against the Bates Bobcats on Tuesday and will look to build on their success against NESCAC opponents. Meanwhile, the Jumbos, who stand at 3-3 in conference action, recognize the importance of these in-conference games.
"These games are super important. They're definitely the most important games of the season," Kaufmann said. "Especially this year, the NESCAC has been up in the air. Everyone is beating everyone. There really isn't a dominant team. If we can come up strong and win the rest of the games, we have a really good shot of finishing high in the standings."
Four of their final five games will come against NESCAC teams, and the Jumbos' fate will ultimately be determined by how well they play in the next few weeks. Players and coaches alike are ready to embrace the challenge.
"We're definitely focusing one game at a time," Greer added. "For sure these NESCAC games have extra meaning and importance, but at the same time it's important to not get another ahead of ourselves, and just keep getting better every practice and focus on our game."
