#10 Tufts Upends #8 Wellesley Field Hockey

MEDFORD, Mass. -- In a matchup of two of the nation's top-ten ranked teams, #10 Tufts rallied from an early deficit to defeat #8 Wellesley College Field Hockey, 2-1, on Wednesday evening at Bello Field.

Sophomore Dominique Zarrella scored in each half for Jumbos, who now move to 9-3 on the season. Wellesley drops to 12-2 on the year.

The Blue scored exactly one minute into the contest as sophomore Courtney Peterson converted on a penalty corner, putting the ball past Tufts senior Bri Keenan on an assist from her sister senior Meghan Peterson to put the Blue up 1-0.

The Blue finished the night with only two penalty corner opportunities as Tufts held a 7-2 advantage in penalty corners and a 13-8 advantage in shots on goal. Both of Wellesley's penalty corner attempts came in the first half as the Blue held an 8-3 lead in shots before the break.

The Jumbos would even the score just under 13 minutes into the game as sophomore Annie Artz capitalized on a Blue turnover and fed it to Zarrella. With Zarrella right in front of the cage, she was able to sneak the ball past Blue sophomore goalie Lucy Hurlock to tie the game at 1-1.

Hurlock finished the contest with five saves for the Blue, while Keenan totaled three for the Jumbos. 

The Jumbos took control of the contest in the second half, holding the Blue without a shot and without a penalty corner for the entire period. 

Just over 20 minutes into the second half, the Jumbos drew a penalty corner and junior Dakota Sikes-Keilp unleashed a rocket that Hurlock was able to kick away and save. The ball deflected off Hurlcock to the stick of junior Maggie Chapman, and Chapman sent the ball over to Zarrella who put the Jumbos ahead, 2-1, scoring her second of the day and the eventual game-winner.

The Blue return to action on Saturday at 12 noon when they host Springfield as part of Homecoming Weekend. Tufts will also be in action on Saturday when they host Williams at 1:00 pm.