Tufts Too Much for Bants!

It was a battle of two top ten ranked NESCAC squads as we (currently ranked #9) headed to play #7 Tufts in Medford, MA on Saturday. The weather was cold and windy - typical New England spring conditions. We were focused and ready to play, knowing that this would be a great match up and a tough team to beat.

Pecks looks upfield for a pass!

The game got off to a great start - we went up 2 - 0 on early goals from Jenn and Spanz. The second goal was a beautiful assist from Rachel and Spanz slam dunked it in the back of the net. It was a very sweet goal!! While we tried to pull away from Tufts they would not allow us to as they won nearly every draw control early in the game. Our defense did a great job of limiting the good offensive looks for the Jumbos but eventually they broke into the scoring column and then went on a little run to take the lead and extend it 4-2. We battled back, despite not playing our best, and closed out the half with 2 goals, making it a 6-5 game with Tufts narrowly ahead.

The attack works the ball against an aggressive Tufts defense!

The second half was made up of lots of little runs. After trading the first two goals, Tufts picked up some momentum and extended the lead by 3 goals. We then responded, finding our own streak, scoring the next 3 goals to tie the game at 9-9. Unfortunately, Tufts turned up the pressure and took over for the final 15 mintues of the game, outscoring us 4-1 to earn the victory. They swarmed our defenders and while Sconch, Kayla, Liz, Annie and Pecks all worked hard to move the ball safely upfield, Tufts forced some critical turnovers that kept us on the defensive end for what proved to be too much time.

Annie moves the ball upfield through Tufts pressure!

While we didn't play our best, we never gave up and had a chance to get the game within 1 goal, with just a couple of minutes to play. The Tufts keeper came up with a huge save that allowed them to get possession and tack on a late goal with our defense extended. We were disappointed with the outcome but know that Tufts played a great game and we look forward to hopefully having a chance to play them again down the road in tournament play.

Some great Trinity redefending!

For now, we are shifting gears and preparing to face Springfield at home, at 7pm on Wednesday!Remer challenges the Tufts defense!