Box Score MEDFORD – Tufts University's late comeback fell a goal short as the Jumbos lost to Colby College 10-9 in New England Small College Athletic Conference women's lacrosse action at Bello Field on Saturday.
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| Freshman Johanna O'Neil grabbed three groundballs and caused two turnovers |
Caroline Nowak's tally off a free-position shot pulled the Jumbos to within a goal with 2:24 left in the second half, but #20 ranked Colby won the ensuing draw control and was able to run out the clock.
Colby burst out to a 3-0 lead in the first 7:10 of action on goals by Kendall Smith, Lexi Perticone and Kelsey Bowen. Dakota Adamec narrowed the Mules lead to 3-1 with the first of her two goals of the afternoon, but Smith's second tally of the day moved the advantage back to three goals 3:54 later.
Grace Crowell increased the Colby lead to 5-1, before Megan Toner answered for the Jumbos off an assist from Erin Jacob. Smith's third tally of the first half from an assist by Maddie Hatch regained the Mules' four-goal advantage and Hatch deposited a free-position shot with 46 seconds left in the half to give Colby a 7-2 lead. Senior Kate Makin answered for the Jumbos with just 13 ticks left in the first period off an assist by Gabby Vinci.
Colby opened the second half scoring on Smith's fourth goal of the day just 11 seconds into the half. Mackin sandwiched two goals around a Perticone marker for the Mules for a 9-5 Colby advantage. Colby moved out to a 10-5 lead on Hatch's second goal of the day with 14:16 remaining in the second stanza.
The Tufts defense held the Mules scoreless the rest of the way as the Jumbos' offense rallied. A pair of goals just 22 seconds apart by Taylor Meeks shrunk the deficit to 10-7, before a free-position goal by Adamec narrowed the gap to 10-8 with just over five minutes left in regulation.
Mackin led the Jumbos with three goals, while Meeks and Adamec each added a pair. Vinci had the Jumbos' only two assists. The Mules' Smith led all scorers with four goals and an assist. Hatch had a pair of goals and a pair of assists, and Perticone tallied two goals and an assist for the Mules.
Tufts had the advantage in shots by a 22-18 margin, and also won 12 of the 21 draw controls in the contest. Audrey Evers made five saves for the Jumbos, while Sam Burch had seven in the Mules' cage.
Tufts (2-2 overall, 0-2 NESCAC) will travel to Vermont on Wednesday for a non-conference contest against Castleton State. Colby (2-2, 1-2 NESCAC) will also be playing a non-league contest against Salisbury University on Tuesday in Sparks, Md.
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