MIDDLEBURY, VT (May 6, 2023) – The No. 7 Tufts women's lacrosse team fall to No. 1 Middlebury College in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championship game at Peter Kohn Field in Middlebury, VT Saturday afternoon, 19-13.
The first quarter featured end-to-end action between the two teams. The Panthers raced out to a 2-0 lead before
Allie Zorn scored the first goal for the Jumbos.
Margie Carden tied the game at 2 as
Caroline Conaghan found her. Middlebury regained the lead at 3-2 but Carden answered with her second goal to tie the game with 3:41 left in the first quarter.
Jane Earely scored for Middlebury off a free-position shot and it was Carden again who tied the game at 4 as she also scored from a free-position shot. Earley added another goal to give the Panthers a 5-4 lead going to the second quarter.
The Middlebury lead got to 6-4 with another Earley goal and Tufts was able to respond with two of their own to tie it up. Carden's fourth goal cut the lead one and then a
Madeline Delaney goal off a pass from
Emma Joyce tied the game, forcing Middlebury to take a timeout.
The Panthers got their lead back up to two coming out of the timeout with the second coming on a woman-up advantage. Cardan again tied the game for Tufts as she scored the next two Jumbo goals with Joyce and Gibbons assisting her. Earley then gave Middlebury a 9-8 lead going to halftime.
The third quarter saw Middlebury score six times while holding the Jumbos to just two goals. The lead grew to three early on as Carden scored her seventh goal of the contest with Joyce adding another assist. Another Panthers goal was answered by a Zorn free position shot to cut the lead to two. Middlebury finished the third quarter scoring the last three goals and taking a 15-10 lead going to the fourth quarter.
Joyce opened the scoring for the Jumbos in the fourth quarter as the Middlebury held a 15-11 lead. The Panthers answered back with two of their own to bring their lead to six. Zorn scored back-to-back goals to bring the lead down to four with Carden assisting her on the second goal. Middlebury scored the last two goals to give them the winning margin of 19-13.
Tufts (14-4) was led by Caden with seven goals and an assist for eight points. Zorn scored four goals while Joyce added four points, one goal and three assists. Delaney added a goal as well.
Kate Wujciak had eight draw controls while
Kathryn Fernandopulle had three caused turnovers and four ground balls. Kaufman was big in net all game as she made 12 saves in the game.
Middlebury (18-0) was led by Earley with five goals and an assist for six points. Niki Mormile scored three goals while Hope Shue and Sara Ellinghaus each scored twice and added an assist. Caroline Adams had eight draw controls. They outshot the Jumbos 35-25 in the game.
Next up for Tufts is the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA selection show will occur at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, Monday May 8, on NCAA.com.
--JUMBOS--
