BRUNSWICK, ME (October 24, 2023) – Senior co-captain
Andrea DelGiudice scored during a penalty corner with four minutes left in overtime to give the seventh-ranked Tufts University field hockey team a 2-1 victory at #13 Bowdoin College tonight in a NESCAC game.
With both teams playing their regular-season finales, the Jumbos stopped a four-game losing streak against the Polar Bears. Tufts had trailed 1-0 tonight but rallied to improve to 11-4 overall and finish the NESCAC season at 8-2 for second place.
Bowdoin falls to 10-5 and 5-5 in NESCAC. Their final standing for the conference regular-season is still to be determined.
The Polar Bears took a 1-0 lead tonight on a corner with four minutes left until halftime. Caroline Higgins inserted the ball to Georgia Coetzler, and her shot from just left-of-center in the circle skidded through traffic and in. That would be the only goal of a tightly played first half.
Tufts nearly tied the score early in the third quarter as they pressured the Bowdoin goal. A shot from DelGiudice bounced through the defense and was kicked away by Polar Bear goalie Julia Arsenault.
Hannah Biccard got the rebound for the Jumbos and sent an aerial shot towards the right side of the cage, but Coetzler batted it away for a defensive save.
The visitors then had a strong fourth quarter and tied the game. On a corner two minutes into the frame, a shot by
Gabby Sousa was deflected to Biccard. Her shot was kicked by Arsenault, but the ball bounced back up towards the goalie and it got by her into the cage.
The Jumbos would continue to have the better of the play into the seven-on-seven overtime. They were dangerous early, but fouls prevented any scoring chances. Then four minutes in,
Mia D'Angelo inserted a corner to
Kayleigh McDonald at the top of the circle. She sent a short pass left to DelGiudice, who moved in a step and fired a wrist shot past Arsenault for the winner.
Shots tonight finished 7-4 in favor of Tufts, with a 6-3 count on goal.
Lydia Eastburn made two saves for the win, while Arsenault stopped four shots for the hosts. The Jumbos had a healthy 6-2 advantage in corners.
This was the second time in 10 days that Tufts overcame a 1-0 deficit versus a Top 15 NESCAC opponent to win in overtime. They did it against Williams College on October 15 by the same 2-1 score. It's the third time this season they've done so, including a 2-1 OT victory against Amherst on September 15. The Jumbos have played five overtime games in total.
Tufts will host a NESCAC Quarterfinal at Ounjian Field on Saturday against an opponent to be determined. Bowdoin will be on the road for their quarterfinal. The conference will announce the playoff seeding on Wednesday night.
--JUMBOS--
