Teams: Field Hockey: Press Releases

Monday, October 23, 2006

DUFFY-CABANA WINS FIELD HOCKEY NESCAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

MEDFORD -- Behind the sturdy performance in goal by senior co-captain Marilyn Duffy-Cabana (Amesbury, MA/Amesbury), the Tufts University field hockey team posted huge New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) victories over Wesleyan and Williams last week. Today, Duffy-Cabana was named the conference's Player of the Week.

The Jumbos entered last week after a disappointing 2-1 loss at Trinity College on October 14. However, they rebounded strongly in a 3-1 victory over Wesleyan on Tuesday. Duffy-Cabana made five saves in the game. Then on Saturday, she earned her fourth shutout of the year in a dramatic 2-0 victory over #4 in the nation Williams, making six saves. The Ephs are the highest scoring team in the NESCAC with 37 goals in 11 games entering Saturday's contest.

For the week, Duffy-Cabana recorded a 0.50 goals against average and .917 save percentage in 140 minutes of play. Offensively, sophomore Marlee Kutcher (Chevy Chase, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) scored both game-winning goals for the Jumbos. She was voted the league's Player of the Week earlier this year on September 11.

Duffy-Cabana, who has played every minute (870) in the Tufts cage this season, has a 1.13 goals against average that is sixth in the league. The shutout against Williams was the 10^th of her career. She had five last year in her first season as the full-time starter and one as a part-timer in 2004.

With the two wins, Tufts has the potential to host a first-round game in the NESCAC Tournament on Sunday (October 29). The Jumbos have not hosted a first-round game since the tournament started in 2000. With a victory over Connecticut College on Saturday coupled with a Trinity loss to Middlebury, Tufts would finish ahead of the Bantams and host on Sunday.

Tufts is 8-4 overall, including 6-1 at home on Bello Field, underlining the importance of hosting a first-round tournament game. The win over Williams matched last year's victory total for the Jumbos. It joined September 25's 1-0 victory over Bentley College, the #3 Division II team in the country at the time, as the biggest wins of the season to date for Coach Tina McDavitt's team. The Jumbos are 5-3 in NESCAC, tied with Trinity for fourth place.

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