MEDFORD, MA (May 8, 2024) -- The No. 4 Tufts University women's lacrosse squad will play host to the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament First and Second Rounds this weekend, starting Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. on Bello Field. Tufts will host an opening round game featuring Westfield State and Cortland, with the winner taking the Jumbos Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Game Details
NCAA Tournament Website -
Bracket
Schedule:
Saturday, May 11 - Westfield State (12-7) vs. Cortland (14-4) - 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 12 - Game 1 Winner vs. Tufts (14-3) - 1 p.m.
Location: Medford, MA - Bello Field -
Directions
Live Coverage:
LIVE STATS -
LIVE VIDEO
Tufts vs. Westfield State and Cortland
The Jumbos come into the weekend with some familiarity with one of the squads, while Tufts will also be facing a squad for the first time in program history. The Jumbos are 4-3 all-time against Cortland, with all seven games coming since 2011. Tufts and the Red Dragons have played two times in the last calendar year, as the Jumbos earned a 24-10 win in the NCAA Second Round last season, while also knocking off Cortland back on March 13, 19-4, on Bello Field. There is also a connection to the Cortland program for head coach
Courtney Shute, who was an assistant for the Red Dragons from 2010 through 2013, where she helped lead the team to three straight Final Four appearances.
On the other hand, Westfield State and Tufts have never shared the field before though the Owls do have extensive experience against New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) teams. Westfield State is 0-10 all-time against teams from the NESCAC, including going 0-4 this season though recently games with New England squads have been close.
In terms of common opponents this season, Tufts and Westfield have the four NESCAC shared teams in Amherst, Conn. College, Bowdoin and Colby as well as non-conference team Western Connecticut State. Tufts was 5-0 against those teams, while Westfield went 1-4 with the win coming over WCSU. Cortland and Tufts have no shared opponents this season, while Westfield and Cortland both played Skidmore with the Owls earning a 17-13 win and Cortland knocking off the Thoroughbreds, 11-10 in overtime.
A Look At The Jumbos (14-3)
The Jumbos will be looking to regain the form from earlier in the season during the NCAA Tournament run, as Tufts is coming off a 15-7 loss to Wesleyan University in the NESCAC semifinals. Despite that, Tufts is still ranked No. 4 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll, and will be a tough out for any time in May.
Tufts comes into the weekend with the NESCAC's second-best scoring margin, outscoring opposition by 8.4 goals on average. Tufts also has the NESCAC's best shooting percentage at 51.1 percent, ranking as the only team in the league to score on over half of their shots. The Jumbos also are first in the conference in goals and assists per game, while their 34.06 shots a contest is best in the league. In addition, Tufts is first in the NESCAC in draw controls per game with 17.59, while their scoring defense is tied for third in the conference. Tufts is also 7-1 at home this season, with the lone loss coming to Middlebury College 14-13.
Individually, the Jumbos recently were honored with seven All-NESCAC performers including four First Team selections in attacks
Margie Carden and
Ella Lesperance, middie
Madeline Delaney and defender
Kathryn Fernandopulle. Lesperance leads the league in points per game with 81, while her 41 assists are 13 more then the next closest player in teammate
Allie Zorn.
Margie Carden is third in points per game with 4.65 and third in goals per game with 3.24. Zorn is third on the team in points with 65, while senior middie
Emma Joyce ranks fourth in goals on the year with 31.
Delaney is second on the team with 43 draw controls, tallying 23 goals as well, while the midfield depth of
Schuyler Lloyd,
Kate Deehan,
Caroline Conaghan,
Emily Leschin and
Elsa Schutt has been huge on the draw. Defensively, Fernandopulle leads the team with 34 caused turnovers while
Genna Gibbons has been strong as well with 13 in addition to her team-high 69 draw wins.
Tufts is making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance, with all nine coming since the 2009 season. Tufts has made the title game twice in 2022 and 2021, while earning a spot in the NCAA Final Four in 2019 as well.
A Look At The Owls (12-7)
Westfield State comes into the NCAA Tournament after winning the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament with an 11-6 win over Framingham State back on May 4, making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Westfield State grad student Megan Bailey was named the tournament MVP after an all-around performance that included a goal and an assist, seven draw controls, six ground balls, and three caused turnovers.
Westfield State is led by the duo of seniors in Kiely Hafensteiner and Megan Bailey, along with fellow senior Natalie DeMaio. Hafensteiner has posted a team-high 56 points on 20 goals and 36 assists, while Bailey has chalked up a team-high 44 goals while posting 78 draw controls, 23 caused turnovers and 36 ground balls. DeMaio has posted 38 goals as well, while junior attack Emma Prattson has 45 points on 18 goals and 27 helpers. Junior Mykenzie Black has 25 goals and a team-high 28 caused turnovers, also chalking up 66 draw controls. In goal, Kara Banagan and Sydney Smith have split the minutes equally, as Banagan has a 51.5 percent save percentage.
Head coach Jeff Pechulis is in his 11th season with the Owls, helping Westfield State to six NCAA appearances.
A Look At The Red Dragons (14-4)
Following a four-game losing skid from March 6 to March 20, Cortland has gone on a massive winning streak picking up victories in its last 12 games including a 14-7 win over Geneseo in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title game in Cortland. Graduate student Amy Hoeffner, the tournament MVP, scored three goals and added nine draw controls and three caused turnovers. She moved into second place in program history with 329 draws.
The Red Dragons will be making their 26th NCAA appearance (Cortland also competed in five AIAW or USWLA national tournaments from 1979-1984). Last season, Cortland received a bye into the second round before losing at Tufts. The Red Dragons won two NCAA games in 2022 and tied for ninth nationally. Cortland advanced to at least the national semifinals six straight years from 2011-16, winning the national title in 2015.
The offense runs through Rachel Janis, who ranks third in NCAA Division III with 70 assists on the season. Toni Cashman has been one of the beneficiaries of the Janis' assists, as she has a team-high 68 goals on the season. Janis has only 31 shots on the entire season, but has scored 13 goals, while Hoeffner has 48 goals, 14 assists and her 136 draws this season are 20th most in the country. Ashley Melillo has tallied 29 goals, while Mackenzie Beck also has netted 26 tallies on the year. Amanda Squillini leads the defensive unit with 24 caused turnovers and 39 ground balls.
Margaret Morgan has started all 18 games for the Red Dragons, making 92 saves on the season while stopping 44.7 percent of her shots this season. Head coach Kelsey Van Alstyne is in her third season with the squad.
Rest Of The Tournament
The NESCAC picked up five selections into the NCAA Tournament, including three hosts as tournament champion and top-seed Middlebury College and at-large pick Wesleyan University will also host games this weekend. Colby College and Trinity College also both picked up Pool C bids into the NCAA Tournament. In the lower left part of the bracket, Tufts is joined by other hosts Capital University (OH), Denison University (OH) and No. 3 Franklin & Marshall College (PA).
Middlebury is in the top left part of the bracket, as University of Chicago, Ithaca College (NY) and Pomona-Pitzer will also have hosting duties this weekend. On the other side of the bracket, Wesleyan is joined by The College of New Jersey, Gettysburg College and William Smith College as hosts. The final bottom right sees Salisbury University (MD), Babson College (MA), Washington & Lee University (VA) and Christopher Newport University (VA) hosting.
In the most recent IWLCA poll, Middlebury was ranked No. 1, while Wesleyan, F&M, Tufts and Salisbury rounded out the top five. Gettysburg, W&L, Ithaca, William Smith and TCNJ are all also in the Top 10.
--JUMBOS--
