What began as a heartbreaking weekend for the No. 2 field hockey team ended on a much higher note. The Jumbos, who were eliminated from their conference tournament in the semifinal round for the second straight year, earned an at-large NCAA bid late Sunday night.
For Tufts, the squads first goal is turning Saturdays loss to No. 4 Bowdoin into a teachable moment. In that contest, the Polar Bears notched three goals in the second half to put the game out of the Jumbos reach.
I dont really know how to put it, senior All-American center midfielder Emily Cannon said. They were just so on. They played really solid hockey with such high intensity for the full 70 minutes. Thats what it came down to.
Bowdoin threatened early in the contest, with Polar Bear junior forward Emily Simonton firing a series of shots at Tufts junior netminder Bri Keenan, who charged out of the cage to make the saves for the Jumbos.
The majority of the first half passed without a goal until Bowdoin earned a penalty corner opportunity in the 23rd minute. Senior co-captain forward Katie Riley inserted the ball to the top of the 16-meter circle, where junior midfielder Colleen Finnerty collected a misplayed ball and launched a long shot past Keenan and into the corner of the boards.
Tufts sophomore midfielder Rachel Terveer nearly knotted the game at 1-1 as the first half drew to a close, but Bowdoin third-year keeper Hannah Gartner made a kick-save to deny the Jumbos the score.
Trailing by a single goal as they entered the second half, the Jumbos wasted no time in tying the game. Tufts earned a quick pair of penalty corners, and senior co-captain midfielder Stephanie Wan fired off a shot forcing Gartner to make another save. Sophomore defender Alexandra Jamison pounced on the rebound, however, shooting it past Gartner to put the Jumbos on the board, pulling even with the Polar Bears.
But it took just four minutes for the Polar Bears to strike back. Junior forward Adrienne ODonnell connected with a through-pass and tapped the ball past Keenan to give Bowdoin the lead at the 51:42 mark.
Five minutes later, Cannon pulled the Jumbos even again, converting another penalty corner opportunity into a score.
Cannons goal was the last time the Jumbos found the back of the boards, however. Eight minutes after Tufts evened the score for a second time, Riley finished her own shot, assisted by ODonnell, past Keenan to make it a 3-2 game. In the 66th minute, the Polar Bears added another insurance score from first-year forward Kimmy Ganong, who collected the rebound off an ODonnell shot and beat Keenan to give the Polar Bears a two-goal advantage.
The lead held for the final four minutes, and the Polar Bears advanced to the NESCAC title game.
Bowdoin is always a really tough competitor every year, Cannon said. We battled the entire game, coming back from two deficits, but in the end, that one just didnt go our way.
Despite making a strong case for tournament contention, including a 9-1 regular season record in one of Div. III field hockeys toughest conferences, Tufts had lost earlier than it had hoped in the NESCAC tournament. With No. 5 Middlebury clinching the automatic qualifier, and a likely bid going to the runner-up Polar Bears, it seemed unlikely that four NESCAC bids would be granted, and it appeared as though for Tufts, the postseason run might have ended right there.
The Jumbos gathered around their computers on Sunday evening, though, unsure of what news the selection committee would bring. They wondered if they would even have a chance to defend their national title.
In the end, it was the Jumbos who earned the nod, while No. 6 Amherst, who defeated Tufts and Bowdoin during the regular season, was left out of the field of 16.
This Wednesday, Tufts will host the Anna Maria Cats in a first-round contest on Bello Field. The Jumbos are looking to turn the tide quickly and return to the win column after Saturdays defeat.
We dont know much about Anna Maria, and we havent seen them before, Cannon said. But to win any conference, you have to be good, so its definitely going to be a tough game. Playing a good team like Bowdoin and having them beat you always shows us where we can improve as a team, and where we can do better. Thats what well be focusing on leading up to our game on Wednesday.
Coach Tina McDavitts squad is confident, however. Just last season, the Jumbos fell to the Polar Bears in the same round of four during the NESCAC Championship, but earned an NCAA bid and went on to bring home the schools first-ever womens team national title.
Saturday was a tough loss for us, but it showed us how important each game is from now on, sophomore forward Hannah Park said. We are ready to show everyone who we are and how strong of a team we are.
I know this team has so much more to give and to do, Cannon added. It feels great to be able to get a shot at progressing as a team together and to keep going. Especially for the seniors, its so important that we have one more shot to really go for it again in the NCAA tournament.
