The Jumbos gritted it out against the Cardinals in a scoreless match on Bello Field Saturday.
Both Tufts and Wesleyan came into the match nationally ranked by United Soccer Coaches at No. 6 and No. 21 respectively. “We knew it was going to be a tough battle, especially because they are undefeated and so are we,” sophomore forward Audrey Cromett said.
Tufts won possession almost immediately at the start of the first half. An intercepted pass, however, gave Wesleyan an opportunity in the second minute. The Cardinals’ shot was deflected, leading to an easy first save for junior goalkeeper Gigi Edwards.
The Jumbos responded with speed, connecting passes up the field and winning a corner. Junior midfielder Reese Birch crossed the ball in, finding the head of junior midfielder Emily Nicholas. The shot was one of the best looks of the first half but ultimately went wide.
Both teams played with pace through the first half. Birch played another precise ball through to senior forward Elsi Aires and junior forward Waverly Sumner fired a quick shot from a distance, but both were easy saves for Cardinals goalkeeper Molly Brumbach.
Wesleyan looked for a quick goal as well, slipping the ball past Tufts’ defensive line, but Edwards beat Cardinals forward Maria Utz to it, preventing a scoring opportunity for the Cardinals.
Tufts tried to avoid another midfield battle by playing the ball over the top for Aires. The Jumbos, however, were called offside and the Cardinals regained possession, winning themselves a corner, but they lost possession again after an excellent tackle by Nicholas, a highlight of the game.
With 12 minutes left in the half, Wesleyan strung together passes, finding forward Merideth Feiner at the top of the box. She turned and got a quality shot off. Edwards was able to save it, however, keeping the game level.
During the last 10 minutes of the half, Tufts built momentum. They had a good chance with Nicholas going over the top after sophomore midfielder Maren Jones drew a foul for the Cardinals, but the Jumbos were unable to capitalize. Still on the attack, they got three back-to-back chances from a corner but again did not find the back of the net.
Senior forward Camille Lu found Jones in the box with six minutes left in the half. With one of the best chances in the match, Jones hit the crossbar. She had another shot a minute later, though Brumbach was able to save it.
The Jumbos’ offense kept pushing in the last five minutes of the first half but were unable to get another shot off. The half ended scoreless.
The second half looked similar to the first as both teams pressed to try to win possession quickly. Tufts combined up the pitch and Wesleyan tried to play long balls for the attack. “They went long every time, which can be draining, especially because we really like to press, and we didn’t have the ability to do that,” Cromett said.
Wesleyan started strong, getting three shots off in the first five minutes, but Tufts soon found a rhythm, linking passes and crossing balls in front of the goal. In the 53rd minute, senior midfielder Caroline Kelly found an open Aires for Tufts’ first chance in the second half, but the ball didn’t have enough pace to test Brumbach. Senior defender Anna Griffin sent one long to Sumner for one of the Jumbo’s best opportunities, but Brumbach saved once again.
With 31 minutes left, sophomore defender Phoebe Marsick cut out a Wesleyan ball to prevent what would have been a great chance for the Cardinals.
Tufts piled on the pressure with 25 minutes to go, creating opportunities for both Aires and Sumner by combining, but neither could finish. Sumner had one more good chance from distance on an individual effort but missed wide in the 68th minute. A long ball gave Birch a chance in the box with 18 minutes to go, but Brumbach got there first.
In the final 15 minutes, Wesleyan looked ready to score. A short pass in a build-up play gave Wesleyan an opportunity to respond. But again Tufts’ defense prevented a good look, and the shot by Cardinals forward Lola Tirabassi ended up well wide. With eight minutes left in the match, Wesleyan got another quality chance. Utz controlled a long ball and shot it over the bar from out wide.
Tufts responded with a chance of their own as Birch sent in a great cross that Cromett headed just wide.
One of Wesleyan’s best chances of the game came in the 86th minute as the Cardinals switched the ball to find Utz. She had an open look, but a diving effort by Edwards prevented the late goal.
Tufts came back to win a corner, but no Jumbo could connect. Wesleyan took advantage in transition with Utz running the pitch and finding midfielder Waverly Meyers whose shot from distance went just over.
The Cardinals found one last chance, winning a corner with 50 seconds remaining. No Cardinal connected and neither team found a good opportunity in the game’s final seconds.
Despite dropping points, the Jumbos found a lot to build on for the rest of the season. “Our work rate was really, really good. … We had a whole bunch of attacking opportunities that obviously we didn’t convert, so going forward, we need to make sure that shots go on frame and we focus a little bit extra to make sure that we’re doing what we can to put the ball on the frame and test the goalie,” Cromett said.
Tufts remains undefeated at the top of NESCAC with a conference record of 4–0–1 and an overall record of 6–0–1.
