Women's Soccer Breaks Away From Clark for 4-1 Victory

WORCESTER - On a windy Wednesday afternoon at Granger Field, the Jumbo women's soccer team defeated the Clark University Cougars in commanding fashion 4-1. This victory ends the mini 3-0 run the Cougars were on to begin their season and keeps the Jumbos undefeated at 2-0.

Tufts came out fighting with seven shots on goal in the first 10 minutes of the game. A sliding block by Cougars goalie Morgan Small and a shot just off the top crossbar kept the score tied. However this aggressive approach by the

Jumbos paid off when at just the 14th minute Kylie Metcalf scored her first goal of the season off a header assisted by Margaux Ameer.

This energy continued as the Cougars were confined to their side of the field playing defense for the majority of the first half. The Jumbos spread the wealth with eight players getting shots on goal in the first half alone. Small kept the Cougars in the game when she came out to meet Claire Wilkinson on a breakaway making a diving play to prevent an easy goal at the 30th minute. However, Tufts pushed their lead to 2-0 with a goal from Melina McDevitt in the 43rd minute on a pass from Abbi Adler.

On 31 total shots and 10 shots on goal overall, Small would finish six saves. This is compared to the nine total shots by the Cougars with only four shots on goal and three saves made by Tufts goalie Haley Bernstein.

The second half saw the Cougars come out with renewed energy. A goal by Cassandra Trevino just four minutes into the second half put the score at 2-1. An incredible save off the hands of Small at the 51st minute kept the Cougars within one.

This would be the end of the Cougars' surge however as Tufts pushed their lead to two midway through the second half. A diving play by Small resulted in a penalty kick for Maddie Pero at the 64th minute. Pero snuck it by the Cougars goalie into the lower left corner of the goal. Then a long shot by Margaux Ameer sailed well over the head of Small into the right corner of the goal sealing the game for Tufts at the 72nd minute.

The Cougars had some chances in the second half, but were unable to capitalize on them. Bernstein had an outstanding save off a shot by forward Isabella Ramirez on a breakaway. She followed this by catching a shot put up by Salazar less than a minute later. Two blocked shots by Tufts defenders in the 67th and 68th minutes stopped any chance of a comeback by the Cougars.

Tufts worked strong as team with four different players scoring the goals. Four Jumbos had multiple shots on goal with midfielder Hannah Isenhart leading the pack with three. Corner kicks finished 8-3 in favor of Tufts.

Bernstein picks up her second win of the season with Small falling to 3-1. The Jumbos will host New England College at 12:00 pm on Saturday. The Cougars also play Saturday when they host MIT at 1:00 pm.

Recap written by Dani Vittori, Athletic Communications intern