Somerville, Mass. - The Tufts University Jumbos used a late
tally from senior Jesslyn Jamison (Berkeley, CA)
to seal a 2-1 victory over the Trinity College Bantams in a first
round match-up of the 2009 NESCAC women's soccer tournament on
Sunday afternoon at Kraft Field.
Tufts, the #4 seed in the tournament, will now play in the
semi-finals at #1 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, MA) and sophomore Jamie
Love-Nichols (Cortez, CO) sent shots from outside the
18-yard box that just sailed high over the crossbar. Trinity's
junior keeper Emily Weedon (Wellesley, MA)
recorded three saves in the first half, while Tufts' senior keeper
Kate Minnehan (Hopkinton, NH) 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, MA) 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, CT) 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,
WA) 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,
CA).
The score stayed 1-0 in favor of Tufts until the final
minute when Jamison took a long lead pass from junior
Carrie Wilson (Longmeadow, MA) 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, CT) 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.
Box Score
