MEDFORD, Mass. – The Connecticut College women's lacrosse team came up short against No. 5 Tufts on Saturday afternoon at Bello Field. The Jumbos took down the Camels 16-11 thanks in part to a strong second half.
The contest was close throughout and only one score separated the two teams at halftime. But the hosts outscored the visitors 10-6 in the final 30 minutes to seal their fifth win in six games. Emma Joyce led the way for Tufts scoring a game-high four goals. Teammate Margie Carden added three scores and three assists to help the Jumbos improve to 8-2 this season, with the team's only losses coming to No. 1 Middlebury and No. 4 Washington & Lee.
With the loss, the Camels drop to 4-6 this season, but all six defeats have occurred against nationally-ranked opponents.
Kate Coughlin (Reading, Mass.) led the team with three goals to complete her second consecutive hat trick.
Aine Downey (Brookline, Mass.) added a pair of scores and a helper.
In the opening quarter, the Jumbos jumped out to a 3-0 lead on two goals from Joyce and a score from Caroline Walter. But as they have done all season, the Camels battled back against one of the best teams in the nation. Coughlin scored two of her three goals in the opening stanza to cut the lead to 4-2.
The hosts opened the second quarter in similar fashion as the first, scoring two quick goals to regain the four-score advantage. With less than five minutes left in the half, Downey answered back to cut into the lead. After
Hailey Fahey (Norwich, Vt.) won the ensuing draw control, teammate
Emily Yorns (Longmeadow, Mass.) tallied her 17th goal of the season to reduce the advantage to two. Several minutes later, Fahey joined in on the scoring spree, finding the back of the net off a feed from Downey. As a result of the 3-0 run to end the half, the Camels only trailed 6-5 heading into the break.
Out of the halftime intermission, the Jumbos once again opened the quarter strong scoring the first two goals of the stanza.
Campbell Johnston (Duxbury, Mass.) stopped the scoring run with a tally of her own, but Tufts answered back less than one minute later to regain the three-score advantage at 10-7. With just over 60 seconds remaining,
Greta Panke (Milldale, Conn.) capitalized on a free-position attempt to cut the lead back down to two with 15 minutes remaining.
The hosts came out blazing in the fourth quarter and truly put the game out of reach with a 6-0 run to increase their lead to 16-8. The 12-minute scoring spree left the Camels with little time to operate. The visitors made the most of their opportunities, scoring three consecutive times to wrap up a hard-fought loss. Johnston, Panke, and Coughlin were credited with the final three tallies.
Despite the defeat, goaltender
Violette Nidds (Ridgewood, N.J.) was outstanding between the pipes, recording a season-high 14 saves against the high-octane Jumbos offensive attack. Tufts goaltender Courtney Kaufman earned the victory with eight stopped shots.
Abigail Gleeson-Feldman (Nanuet, N.Y.) led the Camels with three ground balls.
Connecticut College (4-6 overall, 0-6 NESCAC) will return to action on Wednesday, April 12 at home against Amherst.
