MIDDLETOWN, CT (November 9, 2024) - The Tufts University women's soccer team fell in the New England Small College Athletic Conference semifinals on Saturday at Jackson Field to the Amherst College Mammoths by a score of 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
The Jumbos (13-3-1, 7-2-1 NESCAC) began the match in their signature style, beginning with a high tempo and relentlessly pursuing the ball. Their pressure was matched by the Mammoths (11-1-5, 5-1-4 NESCAC), who were resilient in the face of the Jumbos offense. The Jumbos would earn three corner kicks in the first half thanks to their offense driving deep into the Mammoth's half, but none of them would yield a goal as the strong Amherst set piece defense did their job.
As the match settled in, the play began to focus on the midfield. Junior
Caroline Kelly was excellent at the center midfield position. A potent goalscorer, Kelly wore a target on her back the entire game. Despite the extra attention paid by the Amherst players, Kelly managed to wriggle away from the lunging defenders several times. Her physicality was top notch as well, as she used her body to great effect as the opposition continued to throw bodies her way.
Despite the promising start, the Jumbos would not score first. Patience Kum would start the scoring in the second semifinal of the day, scoring off of a chaotic sequence in front of the Tufts goal following a free kick from just outside the penalty area. The service by Alyssa Huynh was perfect, and fell right in the middle of the Jumbos defense. Sophomore goalkeeper
Gigi Edwards made a desperate dive to her left, but the point-blank effort simply could not be stopped. Amherst led by a goal after just 12 minutes.
Tufts was awakened by the score against the grain of play, and immediately surged towards the Amherst goal in search of an equalizer. They would find their answer through
Waverly Sumner, who did all the work in tying the game. The Mammoths played the ball to their back line, but a miscommunication led to a pass being played to no-man's land. Sumner pounced on the opportunity, and needed only a handful of touches before firing a shot to the bottom right corner. The placement of her shot was perfect, and left the opposing goalkeeper, Mika Fisher, with absolutely no chance of saving the ball. Tufts had found the tying goal less than 10 minutes after Amherst took the lead.
The first half ended with very little separating the two sides. Amherst put up seven shots in the first 45, while Tufts fired six. Each side would emerge from their huddle for the second half with a newfound source of energy.
The Mammoths were absolutely flying in the second half, and limited the chances for Tufts to possess. They were all over the second and third balls played by the Jumbos, and they very soon found themselves on the back foot.
As the Mammoths continued to put the pressure on the Jumbos, Edwards performed admirably, making six saves in the second half, denying Amherst of a few clear-cut scoring chances. Eventually, the offensive pressure from the Mammoths would prove too much to stop, as Brooke Ingemi played a free kick to the back post. Sophia Haynes broke in behind the Jumbos back line, and fired a shot from the weak side into the back of the net, giving Amherst a 2-1 lead.
The Jumbos were left with just under 20 minutes to find an equalizer. Graduate student
Nicola Sommers, junior
Elsi Aires and sophomore
Waverly Sumner were excellent at the front line, with Aires firing off four shots while playing the full 90. The trio were excellent at progressing down the field, using their speed and dribbling to work behind Amherst. However, they just could not finish their chances, as they fired eight shots, but only forced two saves out of Fisher. Two corner kicks in the final 10 minutes gave the Jumbos some hope, but the stellar set piece defending by Amherst could not be broken down. Tufts fell to Amherst by a score of 2-1, and are eliminated from NESCAC Tournament contention.
The number eight ranked Jumbos will await to see if they are selected for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, with the selections being announced on Monday, November 11 at 2 pm.
--JUMBOS--
