Box Score MEDFORD - The steady sideways snow was no match for the #11 Tufts women's lacrosse team who showed grit in a comeback win over the Connecticut College Camels in an 11-10 overtime affair on Bello Field Saturday afternoon. The Jumbos overcame three three-goal second-half leads to force overtime and steal the victory in the extra frame. Senior Lindsey Walker netted four goals, including the game-tying strike late in regulation, to pace the 'Bos, while Senior midfielder Cecily Cushman registered a hat trick for the Camels.
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| Senior Lindsey Walker inspired the Jumbo offense with four goals and added 3 caused turnovers |
The visitors dominated the first half, supported by a stout defensive effort that led to poor shot selection from the Jumbos, who scraped out just two goals in the stanza. There was little scoring action during the first 15 minutes of the half, as only two goals were recorded, both by the Camels. The Jumbos took 11 shots in those first 15 minutes, 9 of which were saved by freshman goalkeeper Meg Raskin, who produced an outstanding performance in net.
Walker finally broke through the lull at the 15-minute mark to make it 2-1, but just under 6 minutes later, Cushman pushed the lead back to 2 after sophomore attacker Tina Balzotti found her open in the 8. With under five minutes left to play, sophomore attacker Lacey Hale converted a pretty quick-stick shot after receiving a nice feed from fellow classmate and midfielder Hannah Donegan.
At 2:44 junior attacker Caroline Ross tallied a lefty shot following a crease roll to close the gap to two, but Balzotti struck with five seconds to play on a lefty side-arm free position shot to put the deficit to three at the halftime break.
The Jumbos wasted no time getting back in the scoring column as junior middie Brigid Bowser cut the lead back to two with just eighteen seconds gone in the second half. The next ten minutes of play were scoreless and the Jumbos were unable to capitalize on two beautifully caused turnovers from Walker, as Raskin continued to shut down Tufts sticks with three saves during the stretch. With just over 20 minutes to play, Donegan hooked up with senior midfielder Heidi Halsted to double the Camel lead at 6-3.
The two sides traded goals for the next ten minutes as a goal apiece from Walker and Ross were canceled out by two lasers from Cushman, and the Camel advantage remained at three with 9:14 to play.
But the Jumbos recorded the next five goals, including overtime, to take the lead and put them ahead for good. The run started at 6:12 with a rebounded goal from Calie Nowak off a Taylor Meek shot that hit the post. Almost a minute later, Walker again attacked her defender one-on-one and found the back of the net to bring the Jumbos to within one at 8-7. Walker then capped off her four-goal day and completed the Jumbo comeback another minute later when she rocketed one past Raskin for the tying tally with 4:18 to play.
Senior defender Emily Wright controlled the next draw for the Jumbos who then worked the clock down to 1:47 in their offensive zone. Ross was awarded a free position shot, but Raskin was there for the stuff again as she recorded her 15th save of the game. The Camels had one last chance in regulation to capture the win, but senior middie Taylor Thomas' shot skittered wide and the teams finished 60 minutes of play tied 8-8.
In the overtime, Tufts was aided by a crucial four of six draw controls to help secure the victory. Wright grabbed two, while Bowser and Nowak collected one apiece. On the Jumbos first possession, Ross used a hesitation stutter step to gain space on her defender and slotted a shot past Raskin from just inside the fan to give Tufts a 9-8 edge. Later, Nowak made a nice move inside and placed a lefty shot home with just one second left on the clock for the 10-8 lead entering the second overtime period.
Freshman midfielder Madison Barker won two draws in the second extra time frame that led to two Camel goals, one from Thomas and one she took herself, but sandwiched in between them was a Bowser score that kept the Jumbos ahead 11-10. With 1:41 left, Nowak picked up a big-time draw control that led to the Jumbos taking more than a minute off the clock in their offensive end.
However, a turnover during the Tufts stall gave the Camels one last chance to even the game. After a successful clear, the ball made its way into Barker's net who was fouled as she made her drive towards the cage. She was awarded a free-position with one tick left on the scoreboard, but freshman goalkeeper Hannah Wiltshire, who replaced senior netminder Rachel Gallimore at halftime, made a game-saving stop to secure the Jumbos third conference victory.
Junior defender Maggie Hogan was stellar on the clear for the Camels as they converted 14 of 16, while the Jumbos were 9 of 11 in transition. Both sides performed poorly on free positions as Conn went 3 for 10 and Tufts went 1 for 7. The game was arguably won on the draw circle as Tufts' 16 draw controls doubled up Conn's 8. Wright dug out five draw controls, while Ross and Nowak collected three apiece. Barker matched Wright with five draw controls. Raskin stopped an amazing 15 shots, while Gallimore and Wiltshire both saved 5.
Tufts looks to avenge a NESCAC tournament first-round exit when they travel to Williams to take on the Ephs next Wednesday at 6pm.
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