MEDFORD, MA (February 26, 2025) – The ending of the 2024 season, a special year for the Tufts University women's lacrosse team, was not the one that the squad wanted. The squad had goals of a trip to the NCAA Semifinals and Finals Round down in Salem, Virginia, with hopes of a chance at its first national title in program history. But a loss in the NCAA Quarterfinal Round at Franklin and Marshall College dashed those hopes.
That loss to F&M, an overtime defeat to the Diplomats in last May, though extremely difficult at the time has come with some positive benefits though. The Jumbos bring back their entire starting lineup from 2024, thanks to the return of three graduate students in All-Americans
Emma Joyce and
Madeline Delaney along with starting defender
Nicola Sommers.
That continuity from last year's team, along with one of the best senior classes in program, will help lead a squad with big goals in 2025. The team brings back a plethora of talented, athletic and skill players up and down the lineup, as eight Jumbos were tabbed with preseason All-American honors coming into the year.
With all of that coming back, it would be easy to get ahead of themselves but head coach
Courtney Shute, now in her 12
th year at the helm of the Tufts women's lacrosse team, was confident in the leadership of this year's team and how they have already been approaching each day.
"I think this senior class is really focused on how good we can be if we stay present," said Shute. "I love that. And so, I think, that's been a focus of preseason. I feel like we have had a really effective and productive preseason because we've sort of stayed in the moment and haven't gotten ahead of ourselves in terms of how long until games."
"I always try to leave space for our seniors to lead because we, we do a lot of work," said Shute. "As a program to prepare them to be senior leaders by the time that they are seniors. So I think the thing that this senior group is they're just different because they're different people and so they approached things a little bit differently than any class in the past and I think just giving them the space to lead in the way that feels natural to them has been like the biggest difference."
Over the last few seasons, the Jumbos have crafted a team that attacks from all angles with athleticism, speed, and confidence. Shute mentioned that the pace of play and how fast the team plays and the joy they celebrate each other have been and will continue to be calling cards of the Tufts program.
The Jumbos are ranked No. 2 in the latest Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll, and they look forward to living up to that ranking and building on what previous teams have done.
"I think, I think for years now we've been athletic and fast. That is, it's like sort of a foundational element of who we are athletically and physically," said Shute. "It we're doing a good job as coaches, we'll be using our depth, and being able to play at a really high pace for 60 minutes…60 minutes plus if needed. I think that this team is going to do a great job celebrating one another. And I think that if we can play with joy and truly enjoy what we're doing and stay present, this team could be incredible."
A positional breakdown is below:
ATTACK
The Jumbos broke the single-season goals record in 2024 with 349, an amazing feat considering that the previous top two seasons of 336 goals were done in at least two more games.
The Jumbos had 10 players with at least 10 goals last season, all of whom are back in 2025 to continue to rack up the goals. All-time leading scorer at Tufts
Margie Carden tallied 59 in 2024 and sits with 197 goals in her career. Fellow senior
Ella Lesperance led the team with 92 points in 2024, as she was the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) leader in helpers with 48. Her 48 assists were also second all-time in assists in a season.
Now junior
Allie Zorn was second on the team in goals with 45 and second on the squad with 29 assists, as she was a key cog to the three-headed attack of the Jumbos with 74 points.
Senior
Kate Mastrobuono came off the bench in 17 games to score 12 goals while adding 10 assists, fourth most on the team, and sophomore
Sophia Claps also tallied 10 points last year as a first-year and could make a bigger impact as a sophomore. Senior
Maddy Charest will also look for more reps in her final season, as she has dealt with injuries but had 10 points back in 2022. Junior
Sadie Dodson and sophomore
Magdalena Rieper have also fought the injury bug some, but both are back and looking to make an impact this season.
First-year
Esme Coes will also slip into the attack mix as a first-year looking to deepen the scoring unit.
MIDFIELD
The Jumbos looked like they would be losing two of their top midfielders to graduation this season, but luckily both
Madeline Delaney and
Emma Joyce decided to bring their talents back to Medford for a fifth-year campaign.
Tufts' fourth and fifth scorers, Joyce and Delaney combined for 68 goals last year while also finishing with over 100 draw controls between the two. Delaney is one of the fastest players on the squad, and tallied 12 caused turnovers to go with 24 ground balls. Joyce was one of four 40-goal scorers last season, and added 10 caused turnovers to the ledger. Both will be key to the Jumbos midfield this season.
Sophomore
Schuyler Lloyd was sixth on the team as a first-year, posting 21 goals and 22 draw controls in 20 games of action. Senior
Caroline Conaghan has been a huge part of the Jumbos midfield for the last three seasons, as she tallied 24 points in 2024 while being one of the best ground ball contributors with 27.
Junior
Elsa Schutt is one of the smoothest players you will ever see on the field, as she had some big games for Tufts posting 12 goals and seven assists along with 63 draw controls a season ago. Junior
Kate Deehan is one of the best two-way midfielders in the nation as well, as her ability to defend and clear the ball has helped Tufts to the top clear percentage in all of Division III last season. Deehan was also voted as a preseason All-American thanks to her steady, dependable play.
Sophomore
Grace Hammond also looked strong in her limited action as a first-year, and will be looking to take a big step forward for the Jumbos in 2025.
Tufts also added four first-yea midfielders to the group, as
Neta Leschly,
Annie Bergeron,
Anna Mollahan and
Ava Olender all will battle for time in a deep and talented unit.
DEFENSE
The Jumbos strength on the back end is the ability to match up distinctive styles of defenders against any types of offensive threats. Returning All-American
Kathryn Fernandopulle has established herself as one of the best players in the nation at her position, as she led the NESCAC in caused turnovers with 40 while also adding 52 ground balls.
Senior
Genna Gibbons was another Preseason All-American for the Jumbos at defense, as her transition from midfield to defender in 2024 could not have gone any better. Gibbons also dominated at the draw as a junior, posting a team-best 77 draw controls along with 25 ground balls.
Nicola Sommers joined the squad as a senior and quickly took on a significant role as a shutdown defender due to her athleticism and 6-0 frame. Sommers ability to clear the ball with her leg and clog up passing lanes was a huge asset for Tufts, one that it hopes continues this season.
Senior
Caroline Cromwell also transitioned from midfielder to defense as a junior and thrived, as her lateral quickness helped her pick up nine ground balls while causing seven turnovers. Sophomore
Emily Leschin also had a strong first season for Tufts at midfield, also playing some defense as well. Her ability to play both positions will be key, especially since she has a strong stick and great quickness.
Senior
Bella Monteleone started twice as a junior and picked up three ground balls, as her IQ and leadership will be key, and junior
Nicola Donlan has played a ton of meaningful minutes on defense as one of the most sound and dependable rear guards on the team. Junior
Annie Aspesi played in 11 games and will look for more time, as will sophomore defenders
Cate Anderson and
Kathryn Wilson.
GOALKEEPERS
The Jumbos have the luxury of bringing back two goalkeepers with lots of experience, while also adding a new backstop to help learn as a first-year in
Devon Chipman.
Senior starter
Pascale de Buren started all but one of the 20 games as a junior, posting a strong 43.6 save percentage while playing some of her best lacrosse at the end of the season. De Buren made 116 saves for the Jumbos, and was great on free position shots as well.
Sophomore
Sophie Powless looked strong in her limited minutes as a first-year, as she started once and got into nine contests in 2024. Powless registered a 9.07 goals against average, going 2-0 in her starts. The two returners will look to mentor Chipman, a first-year from Wilmington, Delaware.
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Tufts hosts Connecticut College at 1 p.m. in Medford, Massachusetts to get the 2025 season going.
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