No. 9 Tufts Traps Bridgewater Bears in 4-1 Victory

MEDFORD, MA (October 22, 2024) - The number nine ranked Tufts University women's soccer team held an offensive clinic in a 4-1 victory over the Bridgewater State University Bears in their final home game of the regular season on Tuesday evening at Bello Field.

The first half saw the Jumbos (11-2-1) absolutely control possession over the Bears (8-4-2). By the final whistle, they would possess the ball in their visitor's half for 66% of their time on the ball. The Jumbos managed this stellar mark in possession through excellent play in the midfield. Sophomore Emily Nicholas had the ball on a string as she weaved through the lunging Bears. Junior Caroline Kelly was dynamic as ever, using her seemingly endless tenacity to win the ball back on defense and generate potent scoring chances on offense. Sophomore Reese Birch was all over the ball offensively, and showed out well on defense as well. 

The Jumbos opened the scoring in the 19th minute, when junior Elsi Aires was allowed in behind the Bridgewater defense. The lightning-quick forward darted towards the endline, and played a driven cross in towards a wide open Kelly. Kelly had no marker, and was left isolated in front of goal, making her sixth goal of the season a simple one. The Jumbos led early, 1-0.

The momentum was now fully held by the home side, as they continued to pressure the Bears back line. Birch would get in on the scoring, after another Jumbos attack led to a corner kick. Kelly delivered the set piece, and served up a beautiful inswinger to the back post. Birch was on the other end of the cross, and nodded home the header for her third goal of the season. The Jumbos ended the first half with a commanding 2-0 lead.

The break in play saw no break in Tufts dominance. The hosts were really firing on all cylinders, as they moved the ball with ease up and down the field. The ever-prolific goal-scorer Aires joined the scoresheet with her team leading eighth goal of the season in the 68th minute thanks to excellent team play. A high press led to senior Jordan Cushner winning the ball back in the attacking third. Using superb field vision, Cushner swiftly played a ball to Nicola Sommers. The graduate student nudged the ball along to a crashing Aires, who was left with nothing more to do than finish the play, which she did with a curling shot to the back post. The Jumbos now led 3-0. 

The final Tufts goal came just nine minutes later, when Nicholas played a long range through-ball from within the Jumbos half to a darting Birch. Birch was off to the races, and displayed incredible speed to separate herself from the Bears defender, and subsequently finished with a composed shot into the bottom right. Birch's first multi-goal game put the Jumbos up 4-0 with 20 minutes to play.

The Bears would make full use of those final minutes, pressuring the Jumbos in hopes of scoring a goal of their own. The visitors attempted four shots in the second half, with three of them coming in the final 20 minutes. Sophomore goalkeeper Gigi Edwards made a save on the first shot on target, but a breakaway for Bridgewater forward Oliva Robarge saw the Bears get on the board on their second shot on goal.

The Jumbos would see the remainder of the game out with ease, and won their eleventh game of the season by a score of 4-1. Their seventh consecutive win sees Tufts set their highest number of regular season wins since the 2019 season. The four goals scored by the Jumbos increased their season total to 46 goals, the most goals scored since the 2000 season, which saw Tufts reach the NCAA finals and post an 18-4-1 record. 

The Jumbos will conclude regular season play with a road trip up to Bowdoin College for their final NESCAC regular season match for an evening kick off at 6:00 PM.