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The Setonian
Sports

Men's Basketball | Jumbos return to Cousens looking for first NESCAC win

January 22

    After a winless start to NESCAC play, the men's basketball team is looking to turn things around this weekend as it plays host to both Colby and Bowdoin. The 7-8 (0-2 NESCAC) Jumbos will take on the Mules (10-4, 1-0 NESCAC) at 7 p.m. on Friday night, followed by a Saturday afternoon game against the Polar Bears (10-4, 0-1 NESCAC) at 2 p.m. After two lackluster performances against Middlebury and Williams to open conference play, the Jumbos are well aware of the importance of these two contests.     "Deep down, we know that we're not the team that stepped on the court against Middlebury and Williams," junior co-captain and forward Jon Pierce said. "We believe we have the talent to compete. For our own personal mindset, it's extremely important to come out as a team and play well and mentally focused."     After giving up an average of 102 points per game in their first two NESCAC contests, the Jumbos must improve on almost every aspect of their defensive game.     "We gave up a lot of easy baskets and weren't holding ourselves accountable for getting beat off the dribble or letting someone shoot a shot without getting a hand up," junior forward Dave Beyel said. "We've been working our butts off on getting what we need to do done right."     The offense did not fare well either against the Panthers and Ephs, averaging just 62 points after scoring 78 points per game over its first 13 contests. Additionally, Pierce was held to a season-low six points against Williams, well below his average of 20.9. Nonetheless, Pierce still believes that the Tufts offense can be productive and find ways to score.     "We're confident in the plays that we run when we execute correctly," Pierce said.     The Mules bring a balanced offensive attack to Cousens Gymnasium, with four players averaging double digits in scoring. They are led by junior captain and forward Adam Choice, who averages 15 points per game, a mark helped by his astounding 58 percent three-point shooting. Colby also leads the NESCAC in team shooting percentage at 47 percent. Scoring 72 points per game, the Mules are not a team that will light up the scoreboard, but their efficiency and number of options could present problems for Tufts.     Defensively, Colby ranks fourth in the NESCAC in points against, allowing opponents a meager 62 points per game. While no starter stands above 6-foot-6, the Mules also do a great job controlling the boards, out-rebounding their opponents by almost nine boards per game, tops in the NESCAC.     While Colby has been a tough defense to figure out, Bowdoin has proven to be the conference's toughest, allowing just 57 points per game. The NESCAC's leader in points against also ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage against, limiting opponents to just 39 percent shooting.     On the offensive end, the Polar Bears have occasionally struggled to score consistently, averaging just 67 points per game. At 6-foot-8, 250 pounds, junior center Mark Phillips leads the team with 12 points and six rebounds per game. His physical presence is the key on both sides of the ball for Bowdoin.     "It's important with any good offensive player to throw lots of different looks at him and make him uncomfortable," Pierce said. "We have some defensive stoppers. With [junior center] Tom Selby, we feel we have a premier post defender in this league."     The Jumbos are anxious to play at home again, where they've had only five out of 15 games so far this season. A loud, supportive crowd might be exactly what Tufts, who has lacked energy at times, desperately needs.     "It's always nice when you play in front of a crowd that supports you and your friends and family can come and see you," Pierce said. "We're trying to get the taste out of our mouths of last weekend, so we're excited for a big weekend."     "Season-wise, it's not the end of the season if we lose, but motivation-wise, I think it's huge," Beyel added. "We have to come out and play two real good games this weekend, and I think the home court will be big for us."

The Setonian
Sports

Top 10 | Things in Sports that Need a Change

January 22

    As we sports connoisseurs here at the Tufts Daily prepare to go, well, daily again next week, we've decided it fitting to honor our source of inspiration for this truly necessary change in our weekly Top 10. As the newly inaugurated President Barack Obama took the oath of office earlier this week, it got us thinking: Heck, perhaps we might need some of this magical thing they call change right here in the world of sports! This week's top 10 honors those people, events, institutions et cetera in sports that are seriously in need of a bit of some alteration. 10) The Detroit Lions. In what has been one of the most painful sights in recent NFL history, the hapless Lions have proved time and time again their sheer ineptitude at identifying talent, developing young players and simply winning football games. The Motor-City faithful's hopes ride on the coattails of newly hired head honcho Jim Schwartz (former Titans defensive coordinator) and a refocused front office mentality sans Matt Millen's utterly abysmal football decision skills. 9) ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" booth. Joe Morgan was a great player. A Hall of Famer, in fact, which is something he loves to remind audiences. But just because you can play the game doesn't mean that you are qualified to be an announcer (right, Bill Walton?) When you are so hated that there was once an entire Web site devoted to getting you canned (the late firejoemorgan.com — R.I.P.), maybe it is a sign. 8) The Pro Bowl. The Pro Bowl is by far the most worthless of all the all-star games in the sporting world. NFL players go through at least 20 games a season, and then after some have been relaxing for a month, they come back to play a game with no purpose. There is hope, however, as we hear that Sir Goodell has plans to move the contest to the dead week before Super Bowl XLIV next year.

The Setonian
Sports

Women's Swimming and Diving | After training trip, Jumbos split at Williams tri-meet

January 20

Every year, the women's swimming and diving team embarks on a training trip to Puerto Rico, where they spend the bulk of 10 days pushing themselves to the ultimate physical and mental limit. Still, their return to Massachusetts was no day at the beach for the Jumbos, who were confronted with last year's national No. 5 this weekend -- the Williams Ephs.

The Setonian
Sports

Women's Basketball | Revenge on Jumbos' minds as Ephs return to Cousens

January 15

    The women's basketball team's conference slate tips off tonight with a grudge match.     Nationally ranked No. 12 Tufts will host Williams at 7 p.m. in Cousens Gym with the first of two weekend games that will commence what promises to be a hotly contested NESCAC season. The Jumbos will follow the match by taking on Middlebury tomorrow afternoon in a rematch of last season's conference quarterfinals.     "The non-conference schedule and the conference schedule are like two different seasons," coach Carla Berube said. "These [games] are the ones we've been looking forward to and that we've been working all preseason and all season to get geared up for. It's exciting … and I'm confident that we'll be ready."     Last season, Tufts and Williams met in Williamstown with the Jumbos sitting in a tie for first place in the NESCAC and nearing their first-ever regular season conference title. The Ephs derailed those plans, running away with a 63-46 victory that ultimately denied the Jumbos both the NESCAC's top seed and the opportunity to host the conference tournament.     "I don't think we've forgotten that," Berube said. "That was a tough loss. It was not Tufts basketball that we played out there. I hope it's a little bit of an added incentive to go out there and have a great fight."     Since that game, however, Williams has been far from the up-and-coming NESCAC contender it seemed poised to become just last February. The Ephs ended last season with three straight losses, beginning with a setback to a Conn. College squad that had lost its previous 10 NESCAC games and culminating in a first-round exit from the conference tournament.     The downward spiral has continued into this season, as Williams has opened with a 5-9 start that includes a 1-3 mark in four out-of-conference games against NESCAC foes. The Ephs did rattle off a string of three victories in four games after sophomore forward Taylor Shea, who sat out the first six games of the season with mononucleosis, returned to the lineup. But since then, the team has reverted back to its surprisingly poor play, suffering a 30-point blowout loss to No. 4 Amherst and a 41-point shellacking at Wesleyan in just the past week.     "The kids playing for us are really freshmen and sophomores," Williams coach Pat Manning said. "When you're so young, it's hard to have consistency, and that's really what we're striving for. We can play with anyone, we feel, but we can also struggle big time. It just depends on the team that shows up that weekend. We had a great game against Bates two weeks ago and horrendous games against Amherst and Wesleyan. I think because we're young, it just sort of goes like that."     In the midst of a six-game winning streak, Tufts enters tonight's game with its momentum going in the complete opposite direction of Williams. The Jumbos rattled off a 9-1 record against stiff early-season non-conference competition, which included wins over five teams that appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season. Though Tufts and Williams have enjoyed varying degrees of success this season, the Jumbos anticipate that a tough opponent will be awaiting them tonight.     "We're expecting a great team to show up here on Friday night," Berube said. "Williams has got some not-so-great losses, but they also have some quality wins, which shows you that they've got a great deal of talent and they know how to play together. We'll be expecting their best game … We're going to have to come out and play our best basketball if we want to get a great win."     Tufts' second NESCAC contest of the weekend will feature a matchup against Middlebury, whose 6-6 mark includes a victory over Williams on Nov. 22. The teams have met each other in the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC Tournament in each of the past two seasons, with the Jumbos taking each contest and four in a row against the Panthers overall.     "It's a team that has experience," Berube said. "They have a lot of returners that were playing very well at the end of last year, and they picked that up at the start of this year. They're going to be difficult. They've come in here the last few years and we've had some great wins against them, so I'm sure they're going to come in fired up to play us."     With Bowdoin's seven-year stranglehold on the conference crown over, several contenders have emerged from a league that is strengthening across the board. A Tufts team with legitimate title aspirations has a tough road ahead, but it knows that a good start this weekend is an important first step.     "This NESCAC season, we're looking for a regular-season NESCAC championship, and we're looking to host the NESCAC Tournament," Berube said. "There's lots of incentives and a lot of goals we're looking towards right now … I think that to start off 2-0 after this weekend will put us in a good position to begin the season. We'll see. It'll be a fun ride, and hopefully we'll start playing the best basketball that we've seen this year."

The Setonian
Sports

AFC Championship Preview

January 15

    Two of the league's most prolific defenses will converge on muddy Heinz Field Sunday evening, with both their seasons and a Super Bowl trip on the line. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens — two AFC North rivals ranked first and second respectively in defense in both scoring and yardage — will meet for the third time this season with everything at stake. Both will have to look to their young offenses to carry them to the Feb. 1 Super Bowl.     Pittsburgh, the only team left in the playoffs without an avian mascot, is coincidentally the lone home team to win its quarterfinal matchup. The Steelers come into Sunday's contest having won seven of their last eight games, including last week's 35-24 drubbing of the San Diego Chargers. Likewise, Baltimore has won seven out of its last eight contests, the lone loss coming at the hands of the Steelers on Dec. 14 on a touchdown with 43 seconds left. Pittsburgh also won the two teams' other meeting in Week 4 by a score of 23-20 in overtime.     Should the Ravens, a slim underdog, have any hope of moving on to face the winner of the NFC Championship tilt between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Arizona Cardinals, they will have to establish their power running game early and rely on the youthful arm of rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. Flacco will put his brief NFL experience to the test while facing a Pittsburgh defense with a history of unkind treatment of the opposing team's offensive stars.     In nine games between the Steelers and Ravens since Dec. 26, 2004, no running back from either team has reached the century mark on the ground, and Pittsburgh has ceded just an average of 89 rushing yards per game since 2000. But this time around, Baltimore will attempt to break the trend with the fourth-best rushing attack in the league, as the combination of Le'Ron McClain, Willis McGahee and Ray Rice have racked up 148.5 ground yards per game.     The Ravens have devised a system in which Flacco never has to make a big throw and never has to be the hero; his defense has taken care of that for him. All the first-year has to do is efficiently march the offense down the field for the occasional score, and he has done that to a T thus far. Through 18 games this season, Flacco has thrown zero touchdown passes in seven games and has yet to reach the 300-yard mark. On the other hand, in 12 games he did not throw an interception and completed 60 percent of his passes, earning a quarterback rating above 90 seven times.     What has been most impressive about Flacco is his ability to remain composed during the game's toughest moments. In the overtime loss to Pittsburgh in Week 4, Flacco still executed a 76-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to push the game into overtime, despite being sacked five times prior. The constant pressure of the Steelers defense got to him in the 13-9 loss in Week 15, however, as Flacco posted a miserable 22.2 QB rating. Expect Flacco to try to air it out once or twice during the evening — his QB rating on passes of more than 20 yards was 90.4 on the season — but the majority of the offense will be devoted to letting the 260-pound McClain do the dirty work.     Recently, Baltimore's most highly publicized aspect — and its saving grace when the offense falters — has been its terrifying defense, headed by All-Pros Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. The two teamed up with the rest of the ball-hawking Ravens to solidify a quarterfinal win over the Tennessee Titans, coercing the veteran offense into three turnovers. In two playoff games, Baltimore has posted a plus-seven turnover margin, while Reed has 10 interceptions in his last eight games.     Baltimore's defense might be handicapped if linebacker Terrell Suggs, who has a sprained shoulder, is held out of certain series, leaving a great load on the shoulders of Lewis. A big key to the game for the Ravens will be blitzing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who, while built like a linebacker, is no match for the relentless onslaught of a Baltimore pass rush.     The hopes for the Steelers' offense rest almost squarely on Roethlisberger and his ability to withstand the blitz. He seems to have recovered from a spinal-cord concussion suffered in Week 17, evidenced by his divisional performance against the Chargers (65 percent completion percentage and no interceptions), but San Diego hardly has the opportunistic defense Baltimore has. Roethlisberger is aware that he cannot afford to make any mistakes on Sunday because more often than not, the Ravens turn those into touchdowns and insurmountable margins.     Running backs Willie Parker and Mewelde Moore, despite putting on a show against San Diego, have relatively no shot of reaching the 100-yard mark in the game, as the Ravens have not allowed anyone to do so in their last 35 contests. The backs must find their niche as pass-blockers, allowing Roethlisberger more time in the pocket to find the open receivers streaking across the field, hopefully out of the reach of Reed.     On the defensive end, the Steelers hold the edge, despite the heralded big names on the opposite sideline. Linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley are at times unstoppable, and with the offensive linemen keen on stopping them, interior linebacker James Farrior and strong safety Troy Polamalu are free to blitz at will.     In the last meeting between the two teams, Pittsburgh intercepted Flacco twice and limited Baltimore to just 202 yards of total offense. In eight out of their last 12 games, the Steelers have held their opponents to 10 or fewer points, certainly a testament to the skill of their defensive unit.     Overall, the Steelers look like the safe bet in this contest. They are peaking at the right time, especially considering the way the offense was firing against the Chargers last week, and their defense can stop the run and pressure the young Flacco into mistakes. That said, Flacco and the Ravens' offense have been doubted throughout the season but have nevertheless continued to succeed, so do not be surprised if Baltimore squeaks out a close one thanks to big plays by its defense and the clutch leg of kicker Matt Stover.

The Setonian
Sports

NFC Championship Preview | Run or bust: Cards' hopes lie in their 'Edge' on the ground

January 15

     Two of the worst-managed games in recent memory, coming from the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants this past weekend, have left an unlikely pair of contenders vying for an NFC championship and a ticket to Super Bowl XLIII.     The Philadelphia Eagles didn't exactly shock the world when they upended the reigning Super Bowl champion Giants 23-11, allowing only three field goals and a safety to the men in blue. Without Plaxico Burress, Eli Manning was not given his normally massive margin for error on his throws, which meant the Giants had only one main way to put points on the board: Brandon Jacobs. But the Eagles' defense, fourth-best in the league and allowing only 18.1 points per game, stymied that threat and kept the game under control throughout. While Jacobs and co-rusher Derrick Ward combined for 138 yards on the ground, neither was able to convert on pivotal third- and fourth-and-short situations late in the game that essentially closed the book on the Giants' season.     Although the Arizona Cardinals possess a pair of star receivers in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin — undeniably one of the best duos in the game — it's not as if the Eagles, ranked third in passing yards allowed, haven't faced their fair share of offensive dynamos this season. Since Thanksgiving, the Eagles have not allowed more than 14 points in a game — that's 14 points to the Giants on Dec. 7, 10 points to the Cleveland Browns, 10 to the Washington Redskins, a measly six points to the offensive juggernaut that is (or was) the Dallas Cowboys, 14 to the Minnesota Vikings and only 11 to the Giants last weekend. In other words, the Eagles' defense is on a roll.     On the other side, the Cardinals are coming off a slaughter of the Carolina Panthers, winning with ease by a score of 33-13. The Cardinals' offense is on fire. Arizona put up 360 yards of offense, 215 of which came through the air. Unfortunately, 166 of those yards came from Fitzgerald alone. And if the Cardinals rely too heavily on one man to pull the weight, Andy Reid and the Eagles' D will find a way to shut that threat down, as they did Jacobs, and Arizona will be left scrambling to find another answer on offense. But if Arizona's strategy worked against the Panthers, why couldn't it work against the Eagles? The truth is that it didn't really work against the Panthers. Quarterback Jake Delhomme dropped five interceptions into the hands of the Cardinals' defense as well as a lost fumble. The 6-1 turnover differential put Arizona a mere 11 seconds away from doubling the Panthers' time of possession. The chance of such a drastic turnover and time differential happening again, especially against the Eagles, is slim to none.     Unlike with the Cardinals, the most important aspect of the Eagles' receiving core is its great depth. In Sunday's win over the Giants, seven Eagles had 10 receiving yards or more for a team total of 217. That's two more yards than the Cardinals had in the win over Carolina, but the most by any one Eagles receiver was 81, a number more than doubled by Fitzgerald.     The return of Boldin to the Cardinals' lineup after being out last week with a left hamstring injury isn't going to make much of a difference in Arizona's plight. Instead, the key to Arizona's game will be its rushing duo of Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower. James and Hightower combined for 133 yards on 37 rushes, nothing particularly special. Then again, they had Fitzgerald running wild on the Carolina secondary, so their performances weren't as essential. But Philadelphia, particularly the man-child that is Brian Dawkins, is more capable of shutting the Fitzgerald option down — if not completely, then enough to put the pressure back on Arizona's worst-in-the-league rushing attack, averaging a pathetic 73.6 yards per game. If James and Hightower can't get it going against Philly, the Cardinals' chances of a Super Bowl berth deteriorates drastically.     Eagles running back Brian Westbrook is an extremely versatile back and consistently finds and penetrates any holes in a defense. He will likely pose a huge problem for an Arizona defense that ranks 16th against the rush and 22nd against the pass. With Westbrook's versatility, he is most dangerous when he starts off the play as a blocker, waits for the defensive line to push downfield, slips through the cracks, then breaks out on a screen play and  devours 10 yards before there is anyone even close enough to try to tackle him. Even if the Cardinals were somehow able to stop Westbrook, as the Giants did last week by allowing him only 46 all-purpose yards, it clearly isn't a guaranteed win.     Kurt Warner and Donovan McNabb each have their pros and cons, both having gone through some controversy over whether they would even be the starting quarterbacks of their respective teams. To this point, both have proven to be worthy. Both have strong arms and are quick thinkers. McNabb is younger, but Warner's resurgence is showing how valuable age and experience in these situations can be. Ultimately, however, McNabb can run a little bit and Warner can't; other than that, neither tips the scale toward his team more than the other.     The bottom line is this: the Cardinals' offensive threats are few and far between. Any threats that do exist will more than likely be handled by one of the strongest defenses in the league. Conversely, the Eagles have numerous threats, from Westbrook to McNabb to a deep and solid receiving core that will be facing a weak defense. On Thanksgiving Day, the Eagles took down the Cards 48-20. What stands out in that game is the same factor that will likely be the Cardinals' downfall the second time around as well — while Arizona nearly matched Philadelphia's air attack, passing for 235 yards compared to 252, Philadelphia ran for 185 yards to Arizona's 25.

The Setonian
Sports

Inside the numbers:

January 13

Conference play on Jan. 27, 2007 saw the women's basketball team reach a turning point in its rivalry with NESCAC powerhouse Bates, beating the Bobcats for just the second time in a decade. Tufts haven't lost to Bates since, winning the next four contests, including Sunday's 66-55 tilt. One of the reasons for the success has been Tufts' stifling performances on the defensive end: In each of the teams' last five meetings, the Jumbos have held the Bobcats under their season scoring average and shooting percentages. A look inside Tufts' defensive dominance:

The Setonian
Sports

Men's Basketball | Lyons roar back, overcome deficit to top Jumbos, 86-77

January 13

    The men's basketball team appeared to be on the precipice of carrying a four-game win streak into the beginning of conference play following a mediocre 4-5 start.     Playing in Cousens Gym against the Wheaton Lyons on Saturday, the Jumbos jumped out to a comfortable 15-point lead in the first half against a team that was carrying a three-game losing streak and had dropped its last three against Tufts in the head-to-head matchup. But Wheaton, led by junior Jaxon Leo and sophomore Anthony Coppola, marched back and won 86-77 on the Jumbos' home court, dropping Tufts to 7-6 on the year. "It was very disappointing," junior Dave Beyel said. "Even more because we'd been playing so well for the previous three games. It was just tough. Obviously we got out to an early lead. Some guys came out, some guys came in and they ended up knocking down a bunch of shots."     Down 27-12 at the 10:27 mark, Wheaton reeled off nine consecutive points, including seven from Coppola. The Jumbos stretched their lead back to eight, going up 34-26, before the Lyons went on a 13-4 run to take a 39-38 lead. After Tufts reclaimed its edge on a pair of free throws from freshman James Long, the half ended in bitter fashion, as Wheaton freshman Brendan Degnan stole the ball on the Lyons' defensive end and raced down the court, dropping in a layup at the buzzer that gave the Lyons a 41-40 lead going into halftime.     In the second half, the Jumbos again jumped out ahead only to see their advantage disappear. Tufts held a 63-57 lead with 8:52 left in the half, but Lyons sophomore Ryan Sasso scored the next six points of the game to tie it up. The Jumbos took a 67-66 lead with 5:23 to play on a free throw from junior Tom Selby, but Wheaton again went on a run, this time led by Leo, as he scored the next eight points of the game to engineer a seven-point lead.     Sophomore Matt Galvin and Coppola exchanged three-pointers before Beyel hit one of his own to bring Tufts within four, 77-73, with just over a minute to play. As time became an enemy to the Jumbos, they were forced to foul, but Tufts could not narrow the four point gap. Lyons combined to go 9-for-10 on free throws down the stretch and seal the victory.     "It was extremely disappointing obviously," junior co-captain Jon Pierce said. "One thing you still have to remember is we're still a pretty young team in terms of playing experience. One thing a young team has to learn to do is close teams out. We had a chance to step on their throat but we let them back in the game. We knew they were a good team coming in, and we let them get going and let them come back in."     Beyel led all scorers with 21 points, while senior co-captain Aaron Gallant contributed 18 on 7-for-10 shooting. Pierce scored 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds, but he struggled from the field most of the day. Pierce hit just eight of 23 shots, including one of seven from beyond the arc.     "Obviously I feel terrible whenever I don't play up to my own standards and let the team down," Pierce said. "I wasn't really taking bad shots; I was just in a bit of a shooting slump. It was extremely frustrating. The team was still very supportive, though. I'm not too worried about it, but I'm still taking this loss pretty hard."     Coppola led the Lyons with 19 points, while Leo added 17 of his own. Sasso scored 15 and notched six assists against just two turnovers.     Wheaton and Tufts both shot similar percentages from the floor — 51.6 and 48.3 respectively — and the Jumbos had a sizable advantage in rebounds, 44-28. But the difference in the game came down to turnovers. Tufts turned the ball over a total of 22 times, including 15 steals by the Lyons, while Wheaton turned it over only 10 times. Wheaton ended the game with a 17-point edge in points off turnovers.     "I think sometimes we just get a little flustered with the ball when we have it," Beyel said. "One of the things we stress is just taking care of it, and there's no reason we should turn it over so much. Obviously, with all those turnovers it's tough to win games. But we've been working on it in practice and stressing valuing the ball."     "When you don't value the basketball, bad things are going to happen," Pierce added. "We had five or six [turnovers] that led immediately to baskets. When you're playing a good team, you really can't have possessions like that."     The Jumbos will now travel to Williams on Friday to face the 10-4 Ephs for their first NESCAC game of the season. Last year, the Jumbos dominated the Ephs in their only encounter — a 25-point victory that was Tufts' lone conference win of the year.     "Williams is obviously a very good team, but they're definitely beatable," Beyel said. "I think if we come and play as we can as a team for 40 minutes, it's going to be pretty hard to lose. But again, Williams is really dangerous, so it's all about energy and intensity when we play a team like that."     "The thing about the NESCAC is every team lost a lot, and teams have underperformed, so even though we're 7-6 we still feel we're right in the mix in our conference," Pierce added. "If we come out and play they way we're capable of playing, then I feel very confident in our chances of winning the conference."

The Setonian
Sports

Women's Basketball | Jumbos pad national reputation with four-game sweep in winter break action

January 13

    The winter recess provided little respite for the nationally ranked No. 12 women's basketball team, which played four games sandwiched around the start of the new year. The Jumbos swept all four contests, capturing the WPI Holiday Invitational title and scoring a pair of non-conference wins over Emmanuel and Bates along the way.     Last season, Emmanuel lost to Tufts for the first time since 2004. The Saints threatened to reclaim the upper hand in the New England rivalry with the Jumbos when the two teams met in Boston on Jan. 7. Emmanuel led for much of the first half, opening up an 11-point lead with 15:56 left in regulation. But Tufts climbed all the way back, going on an 18-4 run over the next 7:04 to take a three-point lead.     The lead changed hands three more times before the Saints took a 55-52 advantage with 4:30 to play. But the Jumbos closed the game with a resounding 13-0 run to escape with a comeback victory.     Held scoreless in the first half, senior co-captain Kim Moynihan led the second-half charge, tallying 17 points in the period.     "Being down in Emmanuel, it was great for us to show the resiliency that we do have and the fight to come back and get that win on the road," coach Carla Berube said.     A week earlier, Tufts traveled to Worcester, Mass. to take part in the WPI Holiday Invitational. After coming in as the runner-up in the tournament two years ago, the Jumbos did one better this time around. Tufts captured the crown with an 81-60 victory over the host Engineers on Dec. 31 a day after topping Catholic in the opening round.     Tufts was led by sophomore point guard and tournament MVP Colleen Hart, who notched 20 points and eight assists in the tournament finale. Junior forward Julia Baily was also named to the all-tournament team after averaging a double-double (15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds) over the two contests.     "The WPI Tournament was great," coach Carla Berube said. "We did some really nice things in those games. It's not easy traveling back and forth to Worcester in snow storms, but we took that tournament and got two quality wins."

The Setonian
Sports

Ice Hockey | Streaking Jumbos win four straight over break

January 13

    The holiday season brought the gift of momentum to the Jumbo hockey team.     With wins over Johnson & Wales and Framingham State, the Jumbos improved their overall record to 5-3 and extended their winning streak to four games, the team's best run since a seven-game streak at the start of the 2000-01 season.      In their first game of the new year, the Jumbos rolled over non-conference Johnson & Wales 8-0 at home. Freshman goalie Scott Barchard posted 28 saves for his first career shutout and his fourth win with the Jumbos.     The team was led offensively by sophomore Tom Derosa, the squad's points leader. Derosa buried two goals and had two assists in the blowout.     "[Derosa's] line is playing very well right now," coach Brian Murphy said. "The reason we brought Tom in is because he can score, and he's been doing that."     After Derosa opened the scoring just 1:42 into the first period, the Jumbos continued to bombard Johnson & Wales' sophomore goalie JR Woodland, firing 16 shots on goal to the Wildcats' seven.     At 8:42 of the first frame, Tufts freshman Evan Story scored a power-play goal, setting off a Jumbos scoring flurry. In less than three minutes, the Jumbos added two more goals during the five-minute power play with tallies from sophomore Lindsay Walker and junior Cory Korchin to take a 4-0 lead at the end of the period.     Sophomore Mike Vitale and freshman Nick Resor each added a goal in the second period to build a 6-0 lead for the Jumbos.     In the final period, Derosa scored his second goal of the game and team-leading seventh of the season, and senior Jared Melillo buried one more in the final minute to make the score 8-0. Barchard finished strong with 13 third-period saves to defend shutout bid.     The Jumbos' 4-3 win over Framingham State on Dec. 9 was a much closer affair that saw the Jumbos barely hold on to a three-goal lead after a third-period rally by the Rams.     The Jumbos entered the third period well ahead after a dominant second period that saw them score four unanswered goals following a goal by Rams senior Sean Maguire, who opened the scoring at 1:31 of the period.     Although the Jumbos outshot the Rams 41-30 on the game, the Rams took control in the third period and forced junior goalie Jay McNamara to work to defend the Jumbos' lead. While the Rams beat McNamara twice in the final frame, he turned aside 11 of the 13 shots he faced for a 27-save win, his first victory of the season and his career.     Contributing to Tufts' second period scoring flurry was Derosa, with his fourth and fifth goals of the season, and Resor with his fifth.

The Setonian
Sports

Ice Hockey | Five steps forward, one step back: Tufts snaps win streak

January 13

    With a 4-1 loss on Saturday to St. Michael's College, the ice hockey team's first five-game win streak since the 2000-01 season came to an end.     Before dropping the decision, however, the Jumbos capped off the streak with a tense 2-1 victory over perennial powerhouse Norwich University on Friday night, marking the Jumbos' sixth win of the season and equaling their win total from last year. Saturday's loss was the first suffered by the Jumbos since the end of November, when they dropped a 4-3 decision to UMass Boston before starting up the streak that began with a win in their home opener on Dec. 5.     "The team finally realized we can win," freshman goaltender Scott Barchard said. "We just have to get back to the drawing board, restart and find another way to win."     On Saturday, the first period was fairly even, with both teams registering 14 shots.  St. Michael's capitalized first when senior captain Chris Healey scored his first of two goals at the 8:57 mark. Tufts earned multiple power play opportunities later in the period, including a five-on-three advantage for a minute and a half, but the score remained 1-0 heading into the first intermission.     Most of the game's scoring action came in the second period, when the teams combined for three goals in less than six minutes. At 7:40, St. Michael's sophomore Nicholas Sheehan buried a goal on a two-on-one rush.     The Jumbos were quick to respond, as sophomore Andy Davis netted his second goal of the season, with assists going to sophomore Lindsay Walker and freshman Matt Amico. It was the lone score for Tufts, despite the Jumbos' firing a total of 32 shots on goal.     St. Michael's junior Kyle Marquis put the Jumbos away for good when he beat Barchard with 7:02 to go in the period. Healey added his second tally and team-leading seventh of the season to ice off the win.     "We came out flat and we collapsed in the [defensive] zone," junior Doug Wilson said. "But we will use losses like this as momentum going into the rest of the season. It was not what we wanted, but it's a good lesson."     Friday's game may have contributed to fatigue on Saturday, as the two-time national champion Cadets kept the Jumbos on their toes. The victory was Tufts' first over Norwich since becoming a member of the competitive NESCAC/ECAC East league in 2001, but the biggest story for the Jumbos took place between the pipes.     Coming off a 28-save shutout — the first of his career — against Johnson & Wales on Jan. 6, Barchard outdid himself with a 39-save performance to silence then-No. 12  Cadets.     "Scotty stood on his head all weekend," Wilson said.     Thanks to Barchard and the Jumbo defense, Tufts left the ice tied at 0-0 despite being outshot 11-2 in the first period and being short-handed three times.     "The team was letting me see every shot," Barchard said. "And they blocked probably 15 more shots all game."     Tufts struck first when sophomore Zach Diaco scored a power-play goal at 11:56 in the second period with assists from sophomore Mike Vitale and Wilson. Less than five minutes later, the Jumbos forced a turnover at the blue line. Derosa, the team's leader in goals and points, carried the puck all the way into the Cadets' zone and fed Wilson, who buried it for his first goal of the season and what would ultimately stand as the deciding score.     "Tommy gave me a good pass and Vitale and Resor set up a great screen," Wilson said. "I don't think the goalie even saw the puck."     Special teams proved critical for the Jumbos, as in addition to their power-play goal, they killed off five Cadet power plays.     "It starts up with the forwards and a really good forecheck," Barchard said. "Teams are not comfortable coming into our zone."     "We are a lot more aggressive on the penalty kills this year," Wilson said. "We rush the defensemen. We go right at them and they mishandle the puck."     With a 2-0 Tufts lead going into the third period, Barchard continued his outstanding play. The Jumbos were outshot 17-1 on the period, but Barchard was up to the task, turning aside all but one shot.     With just 2:42 left in the game, Norwich made a last-minute comeback bid. Senior Rico Piatelli cut the lead to one, so with 2:42 to go, the Cadets pulled third-period replacement goaltender Ryan Klingensmith. But Tufts' defense held strong, capping off the upset win.      Derosa attributes the team's recent success to great chemistry.     "We've had the same lines the past six or seven games, so everyone is getting a feel for each other," he said. "I've been playing with the same two kids the past six or seven games, too, and we are really gelling as a unit."     After compiling just 10 goals over four games, the Jumbos have found the back of the net 22 times in a six-game span while allowing just 11 goals.     "We lost a lot of talent last year," Wilson said. "I wasn't sure what would happen this season, but the team has really clicked. We have a good group of freshmen and good chemistry. Everybody knows their role on the team and does their part."     The Jumbos continue their road trip on Friday when they look to topple ECAC East competitor Skidmore (6-5), whom they haven't beaten since 2001-02.

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