Box Score MEDFORD - The No. 6 Tufts University Field Hockey team downed Connecticut College by a score of 8-0 in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play on Saturday afternoon at Ounjian Field.
The Jumbos improve to 11-2 with a NESCAC record of 7-1 while the Camels fall to 2-10 with a 0-8 record in league contests.
The action started just 90 seconds into the game when senior co-captain Rachel Hamilton forced a turnover that led to sophomore Gillian Roeca picking up a loose ball inside the shooting arc. Her initial shot was blocked but her rebound shot was lifted over Camel goalkeeper, Jackie Mountford, to give the Jumbos a 1-0 lead.
Less than three minutes later, the Jumbos would double their lead from a corner that was inserted by Senior Marguerite Salamone. Salamone sent her pass to Hamilton who was on the left side of the arc. She fired a shot through traffic and into the bottom left corner of the cage.
The Camels nearly found the back of the cage to close the gap. However, sophomore Sophie Schoeni was in the right place at the right time to record a defensive save coming from a Camel penalty corner.
Hamilton and the Jumbos continued their attack. In the second quarter, Hamilton drove down the right sideline and then cut in towards the goal at the endline. She found a crashing Roeca who quickly lifted a shot over the attacking goalkeeper for her second goal of the contest.
Connecticut College had another opportunity to get on the board when they had back-to-back penalty corners. The Jumbos managed to clear the ball and keep the scoresheet blemish free.
Junior Beth Krikorian closed out the first half scoring with her second goal of the season. Hamilton continued to drive down the right side of the field and cut in at the endline. This time she found Krikorian in the middle of the shooting arc. Krikorian paused and took one step to her right to shoot around the attacking goalkeeper.
Tufts continued on the attack in the second half as Roeca capped her hat trick with a third quarter goal. Senior Julia Todesco tallied a pair of fourth quarter goals, which sandwiched a goal from freshman Talia Smith. Smith earned her first career goal in the fourth quarter flurry of goals.
Tufts tallied a total of 24 shots throughout this game, while Connecticut College produced five shots. The Jumbos earned five penalty corners while the Camels earned two.
Sophomore Andie Stallman earned the win while making two saves. She improves to 11-2 on the season. Both sophomore Emma Smith and freshman Samantha Gibby saw action in the cage for the Jumbos. Mountford made two saves on six shots on goal in the loss. She was replaced by Andie McGraw who stopped six of 10 shots on goal.
Tufts hosts No. 1 Middlebury next Saturday in a rematch of last season's National Championship. They are slated to start at 11 am. Connecticut College heads to Roger Williams for a non-conference matchup on Wednesday with a 6 pm start time.
