GENEVA, NY (November 12, 2022) - The Tufts University Jumbos women's soccer team defeated the Denison University Big Red by a score of 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
The #22-ranked Jumbos, who came into the tournament with a record of 10-5-2, received an at-large tournament bid after their solid performance within the New England Small College Athletic Conference Tournament. Denison came in with a record of 7-8-4. They caught fire late in the season and were able to knock off Ohio Wesleyan University to secure the North Coast Athletic Conference title, sending them to the NCAA Tournament.
The Jumbos were able to control the pace of play and possession for the majority of the game. They were able to take the lead in the first half, and that was all the offense they would need for the entirety of the game.
The only goal of the day came in the 15th minute, thanks to junior
Erin Duncan. She netted her seventh of the year, tied with
Thalia Greenberg for the team lead. Duncan was able to make the goal happen with some nice passing by the Jumbos' offense. Duncan, Greenberg and
Maddie Pero worked the ball between the three of them on the right side of the field, setting up nice positioning. Eventually, Pero left a nice through ball to Duncan, who let a shot rip from right outside the net and past Denison goalkeeper Wynne Hague.
From that point on, the Jumbos really held the pace and kept up a lot of pressure on the Big Red. In the second half, they came out firing right away with a few scoring chances, and although they were unable to add to their 1-0 lead, they kept the ball in the Denison end for a large majority of the half, denying the Bg Red any chances to knot up the game.
The greatest Denison scoring chance of the day came in the second half, when Tufts committed a foul in the 75th minute right outside the 18-yard line. If the foul had occurred another foot towards the goal, Denison would have been awarded a penalty kick. However, the kick was spotted right outside the box, and Callie Davis took the free kick for the Big Red. The kick was a low liner on target, but the Jumbo defense was able to block the shot and corral it, clearing it out of their end and once again denying any legitimate scoring chance for Denison.
The Big Red actually led the game in shots (9-7), but the Jumbos led in corner kicks (3-2) and shots on goal (5-3). Hague made four saves for the Big Red, while
Hayley Bernstein made three for the Jumbos. Tufts also committed eight fouls in the game as opposed to Denison's six.
The Jumbos will take on the host team, William Smith, in the second round tomorrow at 1 pm. William Smith is coming off of a huge 12-0 win over SUNY Delhi earlier today. The winner of tomorrow's game will be advancing to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.
Written by Lucas Wlodarczyk, Athletic Communications Intern
