AMHERST, MA – Senior forward Melissa Burke scored a pair of unassisted goals to lead the third-ranked Tufts University field hockey team to a 3-0 win over 16th-ranked Amherst College Friday afternoon on Gooding Field.
The Lord Jeffs drop to 1-2 (1-2 NESCAC) on the season, while the Jumbos remain perfect at 3-0 (2-0 NESCAC). Tufts has now won three consecutive meetings with Amherst, each of which has come by shutout. Friday marked the first time the Jeffs lost a home opener since a 2002 setback to Tufts.
Burke's goals came in the 10th and 63rd minutes, with reigning NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year Tamara Brown '11 also scoring for the Jumbos in the 39th minute. Marianna Zak '12 made seven saves for the visitors and Sarah Wise '13 (Akron, OH) stopped nine shots for the hosts, as each goalkeeper put in a strong performance.
The Jumbos had out-shot the opposition by a combined 49-12 in their first two games of the season, but the gap was much closer on Friday as Amherst took 10 shots compared to 16 for Tufts. The visitors attempted 12 penalty corners, while the hosts took nine.
Tufts came out strong and earned two penalty corners in the opening two minutes. The game's first goal came when Sarah Cannon '12 lofted a shot over Wise's head, but the Amherst goalkeeper ran back to her line and made an outstanding save by knocking the ball out of mid-air with her stick. Despite the effort, the ball made its way to Burke, who rocketed a shot to the far post and just inside the cage to make it a 1-0 game with 25:40 remaining in the first half.
Amherst nearly tied the score with five minutes to play in the opening period when Katie McMahon '13 (Denville, NJ) passed the ball through the crease to the right of the goal. Chrissy Cantore '12 (Hershey, PA) was there for the one-timer, but her shot rattled off the post and went over the end line.
The Jeffs had another prime opportunity one minute later on a penalty corner. McMahon's pass to the top of the circle found Carly Dudzik '12 (Darien, CT), who got into position and fired a hard shot on target, but Tufts midfielder Jess Perkins '11 was there to make a key defensive save with four minutes on the clock. The Jumbos held a 10-4 advantage in shots and a 9-4 edge in corners in the first 35 minutes.
It took Tufts only 3:19 to double its lead in the second half. Tess Guttadauro '11 set up for a corner and sent a pass to Perkins, who picked up an assist when Brown finished off the play to give the Jumbos a 2-0 lead with 31:41 to play.
Amherst had a pair of golden opportunities denied by Zak in a span of only three minutes. The first came eight minutes into the second half when a re-directed shot was headed toward the cage, but Zak made a sprawling save with her right leg. Moments later, a beautiful shot by Dudzik was met by an even more impressive save by Zak, who made a diving stop with her stick.
The game's only yellow card was called on Amherst with 8:16 remaining in regulation, and Tufts needed only 32 seconds to capitalize as Burke notched he
