Bantams Fall to Tufts for First Loss of the Season

The Bantams’ effort fell short on Saturday against a strong Tufts opponent, resulting in the first loss of the season for Trinity (now 8-1). The Jumbos and the Bantams traded goals early in the first half, with the score evened at four apiece after twenty minutes of play. Tufts started to pull away at the end of the first half, scoring on two assisted goals to take a 6-4 lead into halftime. They continued on their run in the second half, picking up another two goals to widen the gap to 8-4. However, the Bantams responded with a three goal effort from three different people, first-years Megan and Kaitlin, and junior Caite, to close the gap to 8-7. It was Caite’s third goal of the game, scoring off a nice assist from Rachel, who led the team in assists with four nice feeds into the 8 meter. Tufts fired back, beating the Bantam defense on two more assisted goals before Kaitlin scored her third of the game on a well-placed free position shot. Rachel followed up with an unassisted tally to pull the Bantams within one with just under four minutes left. Gina came up with a few huge saves in the final minutes to keep the Bantams alive, but the Jumbos were able to capitalize on a turnover to score a fast break goal with two minutes left, making the score 11-9.

The defense did a great job against the league’s top scoring offense, but the Jumbo’s made the most of second chance opportunities, scooping up 18 ground balls and winning 14 draw controls. Tufts was also able to limit their fouls to only 11, while the Bantams picked up 22 fouls, including 7 in the 8 meter to result in free position chances for the Jumbos. Although it is never fun to lose, the game was a great challenge for the Bantams and showed us what areas to improve on (GBs and DCs!). And despite the outcome, there was a lot of great play from the Bantams. Carrie had a great game on defense, picking up two grounds balls, two draw controls, and one caused turnover. Her speed was a big factor in our ability to transition the ball from defense to attack. Gina was outstanding in net, making 13 saves to keep the Bantams in the contest. The Bantams are looking to rebound this week with games against Springfield and Middlebury and have entered the week of practice with great focus! Thanks again to the parents for a great tailgate!