MEDFORD, MA (November 16, 2025) -- The No. 3 Tufts University women's soccer team clinched its sixth all-time appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 Round Sunday, as the Jumbos scored a goal in each half while dominating possession in a 2-0 win over Wesleyan University in the 2025 NCAA Division III Tournament Second Round on Bello Field.
With the victory, Tufts (16-1-3) will now take on another New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) foe in the Sweet 16, battling Middlebury College after the Panthers defeated the University of Rochester 2-1 Sunday in Vermont. The location of the game will be decided at the conclusion of the NCAA Second Round Sunday evening, as Penn State Harrisburg and the University of Mary Washington are on the other side of the bracket across from the Jumbos-Middlebury clash.
The Jumbos put the pedal to the metal early in the contest Sunday, and never took their foot off the gas for the full 90 minutes. Tufts posted a big 61-39 percent edge in possession for the game, while outshooting their NESCAC opponent 27-9 for the contest.
The opening goal for the Jumbos came nearly 19 minutes into the contest thanks to a bit of hard work from a pair of seniors. Forward
Elsi Aires got the ball on the right wing and drove at her defenders before sending a ball into the box. After a scramble in front,
Aoife O'Reilly netted her third goal of the season and second of the year against Wesleyan to make it 1-0.
Wesleyan keeper Molly Brumbach would have a strong rest of the half, making four stops over the remainder of the first half to keep her team down by just one going to halftime.
Early in the second half, Tufts nearly doubled its lead on back-to-back point-blank shots, but attempts by O'Reilly and first-year
Claire Brady were stopped with fantastic stops by Brumbach.
The flurry of shots would continue throughout the second stanza, and the pressure finally came to fruition as junior
Reese Birch scored her 11th goal of the season off of a free kick service from senior
Lena Sugrue. Birch has now scored in four straight games for Tufts and has six goals in the last six games.
The only chance down the stretch by the Cardinals came in the 80th minute, as a shot from Waverly Meyers was stopped by
Gigi Edwards as the Jumbos were able to run out the clock in the win.
Tufts finished with a 9-1 edge in shots on goal for the game, and held a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks Sunday. Edwards earned her ninth clean sheet of the season with her one stop, and is one shutout shy of tying the single-season record for the Jumbos. She also now has 19 all-time shutouts, tying head coach
Martha Whiting and her 19 for fourth all-time at Tufts. The 16 wins for the Jumbos are also the second-most in a season ever for a Tufts squad, bested only by the 18 in 2000.
The Tufts' defense was stellar all game, as the outside backs of
Maggie Rogers and
Anna Griffin did not allow dynamic forward Maria Utz to get free, holding her to no shots on goal for the game. Utz came in into the game with 10 goals and nine assists on the year. Brumbach made seven stops in her final game as a Cardinal.
--JUMBOS--
