“Joy, team first and compete.”
Junior Maren Jones said that head coach Martha Whiting’s philosophy has helped the team thrive early on in the season. Additionally, she said Whiting encourages the players to play the game and “not be fearful of any opponent, no matter their ranking.”
The nationally third-ranked Tufts women’s soccer team beat Rivier 2–0 on Monday. This was the team’s first game against Rivier.
Starting strong, senior forward Hannah Batt went for the goal twice, but both attempts were blocked by Rivier goalkeeper Olivia Rosario.
In the 20th minute, after senior midfielder Emily Nicholas kicked the ball into the box, junior midfielder Maren Jones scored her fifth goal of the season. Jones said the early goal was unusual for the team.
“We hadn’t always scored pretty early in a game, so that gave a bit of relief to score in the first half,” Jones said. “We also had already created a bunch of chances by then, so it was nice to actually get a reward for it.”
Reflecting on the goal, Jones said the team provided multiple goal opportunities throughout the first half.
“So many people had already been at the box and … fed the ball to me, and I was just in the right place at the right time and made good contact with it,” Jones said.
Closing the first half of the game, the Jumbos made 13 attempts at goal with one going in, while the Raiders made zero shots at goal. Jones said the team was in control of the ball for the majority of the game.
“We had the majority of the possession, and we were allowed to create a lot of chances,” Jones said. “We had around 35 opportunities, … they had [around] … three, so I think ... [our team] did a really good job of keeping it in our attacking third.”
Returning from halftime, the Jumbos took 22 shots at the goal in hopes of getting an insurance goal. Junior goalkeeper Greta Steege saved Rivier’s first shot on goal in the 71st minute.
Jones was close to her second goal of the game at the 74th minute but was blocked by a Raider defender. However, about a minute later, Nicholas shot the ball into the goal. Jones said Nicholas helped the team get the safety goal.
“We had been stuck at 1–0, … and as [Nicholas] does, she took it upon herself and just dribbled through five players and hit an amazing shot, which we needed because we weren’t comfortable at just a one-zero lead,” Jones said.
Nicholas gained possession of the ball midfield and fought past four defenders to get to the goal, where she shot the ball straight to the bottom left corner of the goal.
In an interview with the Daily, first-year defender Chloe Kung said a highlight was her almost “assist to Maren Jones in the game.” Furthermore, Kung said she has been playing a different position this season.
“I’ve been playing outside back, but I started playing winger,” Kung said. “It’s been cool to start getting some games in playing winger in general.”
Following in the 80th minute of the game, Jones got the Jumbos a clear shot at goal but was again blocked by a Raiders defender. In the 90th minute, Steege blocked another shot at goal by the Raiders, bringing the Jumbos’ fifth shutout of the season.
The Jumbos took 14 corner kicks during the game, making a season high for the team. On a more negative note, the team had nine fouls in comparison to the Raiders’ two fouls.
Throughout the game, Jones said the team’s goals in practice were achieved.
“We’ve been working a lot in practice on cutting [the] end line, getting to the end of the field and crossing the ball back,” Jones said. “Our wingers did that really well.”
Kung said the coaches have helped support the team’s progress.
“We have an amazing coaching staff,” Kung said. “We’re able to get very good one-on-one feedback and … we have great trainers to keep our team healthy, as well as strength … and weight training staff.”
Through the guidance of their coaches, Jones said the team prioritizes bonding.
“We’re very good about outside of practice doing team bonding,” Jones said. “Our team culture is all about compet[ing], but we’re also about … being goofy and letting our personalities shine. … So you can see that through our laughing, and our bench is always dancing and having a great time.”
The team is scheduled to play an away game at Bates on Oct. 17. Kung said the team is excited for the game.
“We’re on a pretty good winning streak,” Kung said. “We had a little bit of a little rough patch with the two ties with … [Connecticut College] and Trinity, but … we’re all feeling very pumped up about everything with the winning streak, and … we’re taking it one game at a time.”
The Jumbos have beaten the Bobcats the past three games. Despite their strong performance in the past years, Jones said the team is prepared for a hard game against Bates.
“We’re going in pretty confident, but we also, as we’ve seen through a lot of games so far, the NESCAC is all over the place this year,” Jones said. “We’re not going to underestimate them at all. We’re expecting a really hard, competitive game, so we’re just going to go in … [and] practice every day until the game.”
