The Tufts Daily - Friday, April 12, 2019 by The Tufts Daily

SOFTBALL

All charges dropped against Jussie Smollett see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 4

Van Meter throws perfect game, Tufts wins 3 of 5

Team beats Babson, Wesleyan, remaining undefeated see SPORTS / BACK PAGE

SEE SPORTS / PAGE 7

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VOLUME LXXVII, ISSUE 51

Friday, April 12, 2019

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Sixth It Happens Here features 24 narratives of survival by Bella Maharaj

Contributing Writer

Content warning: This article discusses sexual violence. The sixth annual installment of It Happens Here (IHH), an event that showcases narratives by survivors of sexual violence and assault, took place last night. Student speakers read 24 narratives throughout the program, which lasted for an hour and a half. The event was planned by Action for Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP), a group of students working to bring awareness to sexual violence and assault on the Tufts campus in effort to create a culture of consent. Narratives took multiple forms, ranging from accounts of what happened to direct letters to perpetrators to poetry. The opening statements, given by ASAP executive board member Han Lee, expressed the event’s aims. “Our hope is that we will continue to center the voices of those who are best suited to discuss this problem: survivors. It is more important now than ever that we respect and support these brave individuals,” Lee, a junior, said. The event came together through the work of ASAP’s five-person executive board, made up by Lee, co-head of education and outreach; sophomore Benji Cole, head of Action for Sexual Assault Prevention by Tufts Men (ASAP™); junior Jennifer Kim, head of survivor spaces; and sophomores Paula GilOrdoñez Gomez and Malaika Gabra, co-heads of events. IHH’s overarching goal was to give validation and voice to the stories and feelings of survivors of sexual abuse and assault on campus, according to Kim. “It’s recognizing that it happens here and that a lot of people struggle with it day to day but don’t really get resources or recognition for it,” Kim said in an interview with the Daily. “And secondarily, I think it is also a way for survivors to kind of just tell their stories and get a sense of validation for what they go through and … [the] feeling like their story is worth sharing.” Narratives were read either by the survivors themselves or by volunteer readers. Submissions could be submitted anonymously or openly with the option of survivors reading their narratives themselves or having a volunteer read it for them.

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Members of Action for Sexual Assault Prevention pose for a portrait in front of Aidekman Arts Center on April 11. For those who chose to remain anonymous, readers were picked purposefully, according to Kim. “We try to pair them up based on gender identity, sexual identity, other things like that — things that are important to the person writing the narrative to make sure that when it’s shared on stage, it has some authenticity,” Kim said. The narratives were read aloud by two male and 22 female speakers. Some narratives depicted detailed scenes of survivors’ experiences, while others were formulated as social critiques. One narrative was a reflection upon that survivor’s narrative which was read at last year’s IHH event. ASAP provided support for survivors by reaching out and making sure they were comfortable with the way their stories were being told, according to Kim. Writing workshops were also held to aid survivors in telling their stories, according to Kim. Representatives from outside organizations, such as Jane Doe Inc. and Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, attendFor breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

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ed the event to provide solace and support for the survivors and anyone affected by their stories. Alexandra Donovan, director of the Center for Awareness, Resources and Education, and Walker Bristol, the Humanist chaplain, were also available to talk with students. The Women’s Center was open as a space for individuals to meet. The event first began at Tufts in 2014, according to the event’s program. In past years, fraternities and sports teams were required to attend the event, according to Kim. Now, it is more loosely required due to personal reasons, Jackson McCoy, a former president of ATO of Massachusetts, explained. “It’s communicated heavily among fraternity members, but to a point we limit how much it’s required vs encouraged because some of us are survivors and don’t go for our own reasons,” McCoy, a senior, told the Daily in an electronic message. ASAP has been planning IHH over the past few months.

“It really is a labor of love and logistics,” Kim said. “ We have the portal for submissions open until the beginning of April, and from that point on, it’s go time. We have to find volunteers, we have to pair up the narratives, people drop out, people are looking for specific readers, things like that. So really the week and a half leading up to IHH is when it all kind of goes down.” K i m d e t a i l e d w h y s h e b e l i e ve s IHH is important to the Tufts community. “I think for a lot of people in those communities, it is an event that is especially impactful because sometimes that kind of education and awareness is not just circulated,” Kim said. “I think that because It Happens Here is such a public event, it is something that a lot of people come to and leave feeling like they have a better understanding of at least some experiences of survivors on this campus.”

NEWS............................................1 ARTS & LIVING.......................4

FUN & GAMES.........................6 SPORTS............................ BACK

THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Friday, April 12, 2019

THE TUFTS DAILY Elie Levine Editor in Chief

EDITORIAL

David Levitsky Anita Ramaswamy

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Jason Stanley presents on ‘How Fascism Works,’ linguistic philosophy

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Professor Jason Stanley of Yale University gives a presentation on ‘Ignorance in the Age of Information’ in the Crane Room of Paige Hall on April 11.

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Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, visited Tufts yesterday to speak with Annie Pfeifer’s class “Facism: Then and Now” and give a lecture through the Center for the Humanities at Tufts entitled “Ignorance in the Age of Information.” Stanley is known for his scholarship surrounding the philosophy of language and how language intersects with politics. His 2018 book, “How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them,” was a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice. In an interview with the Daily, Stanley discussed politics as well as his upcoming book project “Hustle: The Philosophy of Language.” In “How Fascism Works,” Stanley discusses the idea of “unreality” and how it relates to fascist ideology and policy. When asked about “unreality” and propaganda, Stanley stressed the importance of crafting realities that reflect those they serve. “[Hannah] Arendt talks about how fascist … totalitarian propaganda … one feature about it is that it creates the reality that it then feeds off of. That it goes along with empire in general,” Stanley said. “That idea of creating the reality your politics represents, so if you have … racial politics, you would try to create a reality that reflected [that].” Stanley likens Trump to Nixon throughout his book. Throughout his discussion with Pfeifer’s class, Stanley said that he intended for “How Fascism Works” to demonstrate how fascism has existed in the United States, and that

he wanted to demonstrate that fascism is not just a European phenomenon. Discussing how the U.S. should address its own history, Stanley emphasized the importance of looking at the dynamics of teaching U.S. history to white-nationalist and right-wing audiences. “The sort of more tricky position is the one that says ‘Oh, you know that was what people did back then, that wasn’t really the point,’ that denies the centrality of slavery for instance in the United States,” Stanley said in an interview. “That denies the scope of the problem of mass incarceration today, which I think is the same anti-black ideology just reemerging in a different form that tries to justify what statistically anyone could look at say that’s unjustifiable.” Stanley elaborated on mass incarceration in the U.S., discussing the fates of formerly incarcerated African Americans. “We have this system of racial apartheid where past is never past,” he said. “If you just look at the difference, prisons create a permanent underclass.” Stanley also expanded and challenged postmodern notions of truth and the ways that contemporary fascists define truth. Stanley defined standpoint epistemology as well and described how it relates to white nationalists. “That’s [standpoint-epistemology] saying that it’s really hard to know the truth, and to know the truth you need to be situated in the right position,” he said. “What I think right nationalists want to say is not [that] there’s only one truth, the truth of the dominant group, the experience of the dominant group … The fact is it might have been great for you, but it was really terrible for other people.”

A chapter of “How Fascism Works” is devoted to universities, and primarily deals with right-wing speakers on campus. Stanley addressed this in the interview, advocating for right-wing speakers in the right context. “It’s a political war,” Stanley said. “Genuine right-wing conservative speakers have a place on campus, an important place on campus, a voice to be heard, and there’s a lot of money for such speakers and a lot of support for them, and I’m glad they do speak. But when people speak just to provoke, to create fodder for the press that they can then use so the government can clamp down on universities in a authoritarian fashion, then I think we have a problem. It’s been planned from the beginning.” Stanley also discussed his new book and the subject of his lecture, “Ignorance in the Age of Information,” and the ways he is contributing to linguistic theory. “The talk is coming from my new book project with Princeton University Press, where I’m trying to bring together insights that I think humanities scholars know about language, that language is not just there for communication,” Stanley said. “So it’s a mixed science and humanities talk, where I’m going to be talking about how we should recognize that language has these multiple purposes, to create [us-vs.-them] distinctions, to divide, as well as to communicate.” Ava Dimond, a student in Pfeifer’s course who attended the event, said she enjoyed it. “I appreciate his commitment to exploring why people are attracted to fascism from many different angles, throughout history and in different places,” Dimond, a first-year, said.

News

Friday, April 12, 2019 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

4 Friday, April 12, 2019

ARTS&LIVING

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All charges against Jussie Smollett dropped by Tommy Gillespie Arts Editor

On March 26, one of 2019’s most confounding news stories took another abrupt and dramatic turn when the Cook County State Attorney’s office in Chicago announced that all charges against the Fox Network’s “Empire” (2015–) actor Jussie Smollett would be dropped. In a statement, the office declared, “After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollet’s [sic] volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the city of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case.” The dismissal of charges marked a nearly diametric turnaround from the trajectory of the case up to that point. Smollett initially reported in late January that two men had attacked him in the city’s Streeterville area, shouting racist and homophobic slurs and placing a noose around his neck. However, speculation that the attack had been staged surfaced in the days following the alleged event. Initially, Chicago police denied reports Smollett was a suspect in the case. However, following a raid on the home of two persons of interest, who emerged as two brothers of Nigerian origin whom Smollett previously knew, the focus of the investigation began to shift. Widespread conjecture about the case came to a head on February 20, when prosecutors charged Smollett on a felony count of disorderly conduct. Smollett turned himself in early the next morning. In the wake of Smollett’s arrest, “Empire” announced that Smollett’s character on the show, Jamal Lyon, would be written out of

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Jussie Smollett is pictured. the final two episodes of the show’s fifth season, which had been filming in Chicago at the time of the alleged attack. According to some rumors, Smollett, dissatisfied with his salary on the show, had staged the attack in a coup for a pay raise. Following Smollett’s release on bond, a grand jury indicted the actor on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report on March 8. The charges carried a maximum sentence of 64 years in prison, and legal experts predicted he would seek a plea deal to avoid prison time. Six days later, however, Smollett pleaded not guilty to all charges. His attorneys

attacked the handling of the case by both the State Attorney’s office and the media, calling the 16-count indictment “overkill” and alleging that investigators had tampered with Smollett’s medical records. The pendulum of the case shifted once again with the announcement that all charges had been dropped, sparking a media firestorm. Smollett’s lawyers claimed victory in the case, stating that the actor’s record had been “wiped clean.” Chicago officials maintained that Smollett had not been exonerated, with Mayor Rahm Emanuel calling the case “a whitewash of justice.” However, legal

experts have suggested that the saga is far from over for Smollett, noting that the city would likely begin civil proceedings and that future criminal charges are not out of the question. Smollett’s team has countered with their own threats of legal action. Following the dismissal of charges, several outlets reported that the FBI would begin investigating the case. Donald Trump has also announced this with a tweet of his own. While it is unclear whether Smollett will return to “Empire,” Fox announced that they were “gratified” at the development.

Arts & Living

Friday, April 12, 2019 | Arts & Living | THE TUFTS DAILY

‘Barry’ comes back with a bang

Drew Weisberg Hidden Panels

‘Hellboy Omnibus Vol. 1: Seed Of Destruction’

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A promotional poster for ‘Barry’ is pictured. by Daniel Klain

Assistant Arts Editor

Television’s best contract killer is back. HBO’s “Barry” (2018–) returned over the past two weeks to debut its second season and the television world was excited to see what the show had in store. Viewers of the show finished their premiere season excited and concerned. The show ended last year with such a strong decision — for Barry to kill Detective Moss — that there was no coming back from. Critics and viewers alike were gravely concerned: was it such a good idea for a show to be backing itself into such a plot corner after just one season? Some even thought “Barry” was so good and ended on such a grave cliffhanger the show should just call it. Just from their first episodes, it seems like “Barry” took these concerns and tossed them aside. “Barry” continues to suppress his growing conscience and in turn presses on to achieve the better life he believes that he deserves. Despite all of this Barry still cannot outrun his past and the walls; however close

they were in the first season, they seem to only be closing in more. What made the ending of “Barry” so great was choices. Television series often leave viewers on such a cliffhanger with such little information that it gives them the room to take the story whatever direction they please. “Barry” left viewers with plenty of questions, but that was because they decided to have their main characters make incredibly monumental choices. Now, rather than try to backpedal or renegotiate the consequences of these choices, “Barry” has continued down these narrative paths and not looked back. For the shows to commit to this choice despite the initial concern, and still prove its high quality, is quite impressive and deserves praise. Even though one cannot assume intent, it is probably safe to say that “Barry” was in no way constructed as a series of mental exercises for viewers to debate the constructs of television as it relates to narrative. Yet this is the case. The indictments of “Barry’s” premier season should really be an indictment of its viewers. Due to the large increase of high quality television, viewers have become incredi-

bly learned in the mechanics of television and are now able to think about a character’s arc and story plotting in ways that previous generations would not. Thanks to shows like “Breaking Bad”(2008–2013), the Sopranos (1999–2007), or even Game of Thrones (2011–2019), viewers of premium cable television have been imprinted with this idea on how the narrative arc affects the ending and how valuable that end is. Simply put, viewers of “Barry” are spending too much time worried about the end result, and not focusing on the entertaining journey in front of them. Ultimately, it seems like “Barry” is better off not listening to any of these concerns. Watching the start of the season it is clear how well constructed and thought out Barry the character is. The show is both still incredibly well directed and written. The first episode reveals depths of Barry’s character that were not visible before, and more complications arise for him that should make for entertaining television. Rather than asking what will be the end result for the main characters of “Barry,” viewers should spend more time enjoying the ride.

K, I’m going to level with you all, I try not to base my weekly spotlight on what comic book movies are coming out this week. Usually I try and keep my reviews to books I think you should read on their own merits … but some weeks I indulge myself, and this is one of those weeks. With a rebooted “Hellboy” movie coming out the day this article is published, I want to dedicate this week to the “Hellboy Omnibus Volume 1: Seed of Destruction,” written by Mike Mignola and John Byrne. For the uninitiated, Hellboy is a supernatural detective with a knack for averting apocalyptic catastrophes, like the time Rasputin (yes, that Rasputin) tried to summon a giant tentacled beast to end the world. Oh, and our protagonist looks like a demon, complete with red skin, hooves, a tail and a pair of shaved horns that sit like goggles on his forehead. The first volume lives up to that insane premise with gusto, tracking some of Hellboy’s first adventures in the early 1990s. This being the first volume of a greater series, it also serves an ideal jumping on point, with the reader witnessing Hellboy’s arrival on Earth within just a few pages. After that, the book moves at a merciless pace, putting the reader through an adventure that introduces them to the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, as well as Hellboy’s friends, Abe Sapien (a fish-human hybrid) and Liz Sherman (a woman with the ability to control fire). The first story, from which the omnibus takes the name “Seed of Destruction” also reveals the greatest threat in the Hellboy universe: The Ogdru Jahad, an ancient threat that would bring about the end of the world as we know it. As Mignola wears the hats of both writer and artist on the title, I feel obligated to say that his art is something else. No description of Mignola’s art would be complete without talking about his use of darkness to create the illusion of depth. Mignola’s pencil work and coloring paints objects in the foreground in color, but any object beyond what is directly in the panel’s center is usually shrouded in varying degrees of darkness. The effect is wholly unique, and it really plays up the horror roots of the book, making locations like a desolated church or an old mansion slowly sinking into a lake feel appropriately spine-tingling. The resulting images look like something straight off an old “Iron Maiden” album cover, certainly not your typical comic book fare. For any of you out there looking for something a little different than a typical superhero comic, but still craving some good action, I can’t recommend the first volume of “Hellboy Omnibus” nearly enough. Never diving fully into horror, while also never becoming too light or upbeat, the first volume sets up a saga that wouldn’t see its completion until 2016, and the foundations of the grand mythos of Hellboy are all here in volume one. Drew Weisberg is a first-year studying psychology and film and media studies. Drew can be reached at mitchell.weisberg@ tufts.edu.

Friday, April 12, 2019 | FUN & GAMES | THE TUFTS DAILY

F &G FUN & GAMES

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Ryan, on Vampire Weekend: “Their whole thing is that they’re the rich Strokes.”

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Domestic breakdowns could require your attention. Beautify the situation. Keep communicating. Choose what’s best for your family. Use your charm to soothe ruffled feathers.

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Sports

Friday, April 12, 2019 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

Behind Van Meter’s perfect game, softball wins 3 of 5 against Bowdoin, Babson

EVAN SLACK / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts sophomore pitcher Kristina Haghdan during Tufts’ 3–0 win over Bates on March 30. by Henry Molot Staff Writer

The unranked Tufts softball team (20–5) played five games over just as many days, winning three games against Babson College and conference rival Bowdoin. The team won one of two of its two-game day against crosstown rival Babson on Wednesday in Wellesley, Mass., and over the weekend, Tufts battled against Bowdoin, winning two out of three against the Polar Bears. In the first game on Wednesday, Babson won 12–4 in five innings, despite actually trailing 4–2 entering the bottom of the fifth. The Beaver offense exploded for 10 runs at the top of the fifth, rocking sophomore pitcher Kristina Haghdan and junior reliever Allison Tilton, both of whom struggled with their control. A couple defensive fielding errors and overthrows added to the massive fifth inning, as Babson ensured the Jumbos’ dynamic offense couldn’t get a chance to bat again. In the second game, however, the Jumbos’ bats and defense came alive, buoyed by yet another strong outing from sophomore starting pitcher Kristi Van Meter. Leading 2–1 at the top of the seventh, junior outfielder Maggie Lebinski came up big, knocking in an infield single and eventually rounding the bases on steals and past balls to score the Jumbos’ fifth run of the game. Van Meter led the way on the

defensive side of the ball with a 135–71 pitch to strike ratio, giving up just five hits en route to her third straight complete game. Interim head coach Lauren Ebstein said she initially wanted to see her side “pitch well, hit well and play good defense for 14 innings.” Save the game-changing bottom of the fifth inning against Babson in the first game, the Jumbos allowed just four runs over 11 innings while putting up 12 hits. The two Saturday matchups against Bowdoin were supposed to take place in Brunswick, Maine, but poor field conditions forced them to relocate to Medford. The Jumbos fell 6–2 to the Bears in the first game of the doubleheader despite matching their opponents in hits with eight apiece. First-year catcher Alexis Aboulafia had a strong game, going 2–3 and batting in the Jumbos’ only two runs of the contest. Despite a good offensive showing, it was errors on the defensive end that eventually took Tufts out of the game. “I think we hit the ball pretty well, but we didn’t play good defense and we didn’t pitch the ball well,” Ebstein said. “It will be hard for us to win games when we only do one thing well.” In the second game of the doubleheader the Jumbos checked all of its boxes, excelling in pitching, hitting and defense. The Jumbos were b a c k t h e i r n or ma l s e lve s w ith a n

8 –0 thra s hing o f the Po la r Bears. Even with a strong offensive out put, it was Van Meter who stole the show, going the distance and retiring ever y single batter she faced. The Jumbo defense made up for its disappointing effort in the morning game by steadying the starter Van Meter as she picked apart the helpless Bowdoin lineup. “Kristi [ Van Meter] is just a competitor and Saturday was just a day she was able to go out there and was in the zone and was able to compete really well,” Ebstein said. “She had some great defensive efforts behind her, and it’s always more fun to go out and pitch when the bats are putting up runs on offense.” The Amston, Conn. native, who now holds an 11–1 record on the year, said that facing Bowdoin the day before helped her location and her feel for the lineup, despite the strain it puts on the arm. “It’s certainly not easy, but we’ve been building to that since February,” Van Meter said. “You just start to learn tendencies after a while. A lot of pitchers don’t like seeing the same lineup too much, but for me it definitely helps.” In softball and baseball there is always an unspoken rule to not bring up a possible no-hitter or perfect game — it’s considered a serious jinx. For Van Meter, it was just about taking it batter by batter.

“I knew since the second inning,” Van Meter said. “It was more just a mental thing of not getting in my own way.” The offense also made the feat easier by putting up five strong innings, with Lebinski leading the way with four RBIs and a home run. “The first thing I said to [the team] was ‘thank you for making that easier’ cause I only had to go five innings instead of seven,” Van Meter said. On Friday, Tufts beat Bowdoin 5–4 in the first edition of the three-day series. Sophomore Jamie Stevens was the hero, smacking a home run in the top of the seventh to set up her teams’ 18th win of the season. Meter got the win, going the distance and only allowing five hits. The game was a back and forth affair, presenting a glimpse of what appears to be a very competitive NESCAC softball division this season. Much of the Jumbos’ action of the season thus far was in Florida over spring break, where they put together an impressive 13-game win streak before falling in their finals two games. The three-game tie against Bowdoin is the second NESCAC team the Jumbos have faced this season after beating Bates three times to lead off their in-conference season. Tufts continues on in the NESCAC gauntlet this weekend, when they will face the Trinity Bantams. The first pitch is this evening at 4 p.m. at Trinity in Hartford, Conn.

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Sports

Friday, April 12, 2019

No. 6 women’s lacrosse stands alone as only undefeated team on campus

EVAN SLACK / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts senior forward Dakota Adamec charges towards the net during Tufts’ 21–7 win over Conn. College on March 27. by Maddie Payne Sports Editor

The Tufts women’s lacrosse team (11– 0) became the only undefeated team on campus this spring after the men’s lacrosse team’s recent loss. Its two most recent wins cemented its position as the top squad in the NESCAC and the No. 6 team in the nation in Div. III. The Jumbos are the only undefeated team in the NESCAC as well as in the top-20 nationally ranked teams. On Saturday, Tufts triumphed over Wesleyan in a 17–10 thriller. It marked the first game of the season that Tufts was down at halftime, but the team came out strong after the half to remind its opponents who was boss. On Sunday, the Jumbos matched their second highest ever goals scored in a game in a 24–10 victory over the Babson Beavers (7–4). The team enjoyed its second balmy weekend at home, putting on a show for its fans at Bello Field. On Sunday, Babson and Tufts traded goals early in the game before Tufts pulled away with an astounding 17 goals in the first half. “Wesleyan was a gritty, hustle game,” junior defender Lily Baldwin said. “So coming out on Sunday morning was tough and I definitely felt slower. I think that getting past those first five minutes of the game let us get into our groove. Even though we weren’t as fast as we were against Wesleyan, it showed us that we can play two games in a weekend and win.” The 17 first-half goals from 11 different scorers included two man-down goals, where Tufts played shorthanded on the attack and still managed to beat the Babson defense. During one stretch towards the end of the half, the Jumbos managed four goals in 121 seconds, as the Beavers defense fell

apart against the versatility of the Jumbo attack. In the second half, the Jumbos went on to capitalize on two man-up opportunities among its seven goals. Sophomore attacker Catherine Lawliss clinched one of those chances, going on to be the game’s leading scorer with five goals and one assist. The game marked one of the only times this season that Tufts didn’t dominate the draw. The Beavers controlled 19 draws while Tufts controlled 16, and it was this edge that allowed the Beavers to clinch possessions that helped them score early in the game. In the end, Babson couldn’t contend with Tufts’ strength on the attack, nor the defensive pressure Tufts delivered. The lead established in the first half gave Tufts the chance to field its entire roster in the game, with many less-experienced players getting the opportunity to make their mark. The day before, the Jumbos faced similar draw control issues against the Cardinals, with their opponents outdrawing them 20–9. Tufts cycled several players including Baldwin, senior attacker Dakota Adamec and first-year attacker Colette Smith through the draw position to contend with the strength of Wesleyan’s draw taker. A tense first half marked the first time the Jumbos were ever down at halftime. The Cardinals edged them 7–5 thanks to a hat trick from powerhouse junior midfielder Abby Manning. After Tufts went up 2–0 early in the game thanks to two free-position goals, Wesleyan answered with five straight goals that forced Tufts to reorganize its defense. The team switched to its high-pressure defense, which is more tiring, but the switch paid off as the Jumbos put a cap on the Cardinals’ scoring before the half.

“We didn’t start out as urgently as we wanted to,” Baldwin said. “We put a face guard on [senior midfielder Abigail Horst] because she had been scoring most of their goals, and we thought that cutting her off from the ball would keep them from scoring. But [Abby Manning] stepped up … After the five goals, we went into our high-pressure defense because that forced us to communicate and be more urgent in zones … That was a call that our defensive coach made that was one of the most important calls of the whole game.” Despite the deficit at halftime, Adamec was confident in the team’s ability to win, and she went on to run circles around the Wesleyan defenders, scoring seven goals of her eight total in the game. She matched her own record of most goals scored by a single player in a game, which she achieved against Hamilton in March 2018. Adamec strategically identified gaps in the Wesleyan defense that occurred when defenders tried to hand off players to mark other attackers on cuts. “I ran in circles around the crease two or three times to find the holes,” Adamec said. “In a backer defense the defenders will hand cutters off to each other, and once they communicate that they’re handing it off, they immediately turn their heads away. That connection is where their biggest hole was, so the moment they both turned their heads the middle was wide open: I just had to time my cut right.” Once the Cardinals picked up on this technique, they started to heavily mark Adamec. In fact, Adamec overheard one of the Wesleyan players yelling in the defensive huddle that “Number 27 is not getting the ball again!” after she netted her fourth goal. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Adamec scored another four times.

The defenders’ focus on Adamec paved the way for other attackers to find the openings instead. Seven straight goals by the Jumbos closed out the game, with junior attackers Emily Games and Maddie Norman, senior midfielder Annie Sullivan and Smith all finding the net in the final 17–10 win. The game was a test for Tufts players on both sides of the ball, as the defense continued to be tested throughout the game thanks to Wesleyan’s numerous possessions off the draw. In all, the defense forced 22 turnovers, and once the Jumbo offense started clicking, the team pulled away. “Their defense got very tired because a high pressure defense is very hard to play,” Adamec said. “In the last 10 minutes of the game, they were set, but they didn’t pressure out. I could hold the ball and not have to do anything with it because they were too tired to pressure me. At that point, we just worked the ball around to make them even more tired and find the holes.” Tufts’ dominant performance did not go unnoticed in the conference or national level. Games was named NESCAC Player of the Week on Monday after she tallied 13 points in three games. She was also named the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association National Player of the Week for Div. III, an accolade that Adamec received two weeks ago. On Saturday, the Jumbos play again at home against the Amherst Mammoths (8–3, 4–3 NESCAC) who split a four-way tie for fourth place in the NESCAC. Last season Amherst tied for first place in the NESCAC and made a deep run to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, and the Mammoths will look to be the first team to crack the Jumbos’ code. Tufts takes the draw against Amherst at 1 p.m. on Saturday on Bello Field.