Tufts Outlasts Trinity 2-1 in Women's Soccer Quarterfinals
Courtesy Tufts Sports Information
SOMERVILLE, Mass. - The Tufts University Jumbos used a late tally from senior Jesslyn Jamison (Berkeley, Calif.) to seal a 2-1 victory over the Trinity College Bantams in a first round match-up of the 2009 NESCAC Women's Soccer Championship on Sunday afternoon at Kraft Field.
Tufts, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, will now play in the semifinals at Williams on Saturday. The Jumbos improved 8-6-1 overall. Fifth-seed Trinity's season ended with a 5-5-4 record.
The match entered halftime
scoreless, but the Jumbos had two solid chances in the first frame.
Both sophomore Lauren O'Connor (Dudley, Mass.) and sophomore Jamie
Love-Nichols (Cortez, Colo.) sent shots from outside the 18-yard
box that just sailed high over the crossbar. Trinity's junior
keeper Emily Weedon (Wellesley, Mass.) recorded three saves in the
first half, while Tufts' senior keeper Kate Minnehan (Hopkinton,
N.H.) made one.
In the second half, each team would have scoring chances that were
not realized. With about 30 minutes remaining, Tufts senior Cara
Cadigan (Nahant, Mass.) controlled a ball that was bounced around
after a corner kick, but sent her shot high over the crossbar. A
few minutes later, Trinity sophomore Leigh Howard (Bethany, Conn.)
had a one-on-one opportunity against Minnehan, but the Tufts keeper
came up strong with the save.
Finally with 21:42 remaining in regulation, the Jumbos would break
through. Sophomore Alix Michael (Mercer Island, Wash.) delivered
the ball into the box that was crossed by senior Ali Maxwell
(Exeter, NH) and eventually headed into the net by senior Fanna
Gamal (Albany, Calif.).
The score stayed 1-0 Tufts until the final minute when Jamison took
a long lead pass from junior Carrie Wilson (Longmeadow, Mass.) and
scored one-on-one against the Trinity keeper. At the time it was an
insurance goal, but it became a game-winner as 21 seconds later the
Bantams would tally a goal from Howard on an assist from senior
Lauren Olsen (Cheshire, Conn.) with 32 seconds remaining.
The Jumbos held on for the 2-1 win to move on to the semifinals of
the NESCAC's. Minnehan earned the victory for Tufts while making
three saves and Weedon stopped five shots for the Bantams. Tufts
posted a 17-12 margin in shots and 2-1 in corner kicks.
Tufts will make its second NESCAC semifinal appearance in the last
three seasons. The Jumbos lost 1-0 to Williams on a late goal back
on October 24 in Williamstown.
