No. 3 Tufts advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Division III NCAA tournament after a dominant 7–0 win against Lesley on Saturday and a 2–0 victory over Wesleyan on Sunday.
Tufts got out to an aggressive start against Lesley, pushing into the final third multiple times in the opening five minutes. Build-up play allowed senior defender Anna Griffin to send in a cross. First-year midfielder Claire Brady controlled the ball and shot it past Lesley’s keeper to create an early 1–0 lead for Tufts in the third minute.
The offensive show continued for the Jumbos as they won corners and forced saves. A foul in the final third gave the Lynx their first opportunity, but junior midfielder Reese Birch deflected the free kick.
Tufts quickly got back up the pitch. In the 23rd minute, Brady took another shot, which was stopped by Lesley’s keeper. The Lynx, however, couldn’t clear, and Birch had an open shot to put the Jumbos up 2–0. Minutes later, Griffin sent a ball across for senior forward Elsi Aires. Though her initial shot was stopped, she was able to put the rebound in and added to the Jumbos’ lead.
The Lynx got one more chance in the first half with 17 minutes to go, but it was cut out by sophomore defender Phoebe Marsick. Tufts kept shooting in the final minutes of the half but were unable to find the back of the net.
The Jumbos dominated the second half in a similar fashion. Brady took advantage of space, scoring from distance seven minutes into the half. Birch won a corner in the 61st minute, and senior midfielder Aoife O’Reilly sent a dangerous ball in. A Lesley player headed it right into the path of sophomore forward Audrey Crommett, who made the score 5–0.
Heading into the final 20 minutes, the Jumbos forced more saves, hit the cross bar, and kept the Lynx from generating any offense. In the 72nd minute, junior forward Hannah Batt sent a promising ball in. Lesley’s keeper tried to save, but the ball ended up in the perfect place for first-year forward Jordyn Miller. She capitalized on the opportunity, adding to the Jumbos’ tally.
Just minutes later, sophomore defender Emma Finnerty sent in a cross of her own. The keeper spilled the ball once again and senior forward Camille Lu finished, making the score 7–0.
It was a dominant performance for the Jumbos, who didn’t allow the Lynx a single shot in the second half.
With one tournament win under its belt, the team looked ahead to its match against Wesleyan, whom the team had already played twice this season. Their regular season match ended in a draw, but the Jumbos pulled out the victory in the NESCAC tournament quarterfinals.
“Today, we kind of needed to reset because yesterday, obviously, Lesley was kind of in a different tier of teams, and so it was easier for us to pass around and play slow, whereas Wesleyan is one of the hardest teams, arguably, that we play, so we needed to reset as a team,” Griffin said.
The Jumbos got their offense going early against the Cardinals, getting shots off and winning corners. In the 19th minute, Aires found herself in space and crossed a ball in for O’Reilly, who put Tufts on the board.
Wesleyan responded with some offensive pressure of its own, getting promising looks and testing Tufts’ backline. The Cardinals, however, could not respond with a goal.
It didn’t take long for Tufts to regain control. The Jumbos dominated possession for the rest of the half and kept finding dangerous opportunities, amassing 13 shots to the Cardinals’ three.
The Jumbos continued their dominance early in the second half. Junior midfielder Nicholas had a promising look when a Wesleyan clearance fell into her path, junior forward Waverly Sumner took a shot from distance and Aires had an open look in front of goal. The Jumbos, however, couldn’t get their shots on frame and the score remained 1–0.
Soon after, Tufts got two more good looks after a cross from Birch found O’Reilly. Her shot was blocked, though, and Brady’s rebound attempt was saved. More shots from distance, link-up play and tests for Wesleyan’s keeper followed.
With 13 minutes left in the match, Tufts found its much-desired second goal. Sumner drew a foul in the final third, and senior defender Lena Sugrue sent a dangerous ball in. It found Birch, who slipped it past the Cardinals’ keeper.
Down by two goals late in the second half, Wesleyan tried to get its offense going. Its shots were rushed, though, and didn’t test junior goalkeeper Gigi Edwards.
Tufts continued to dominate possession in the final few minutes, keeping the ball out of its defensive half and holding onto its 2–0 lead.
“I think that this was just an awesome show of team strength—just from different goals from different people, everybody getting to the ball — and the fact that this was the second time we ended their season just felt so amazing,” Griffin said.
After two strong performances in the first weekend of the tournament, the Jumbos look ahead to the Sweet 16. “[We want to be] continuing this team streak of not one person getting the job done but eleven girls out there. We’re obviously going to work on finishing in the box. There [were] a lot of missed shots, but that’s OK, we’ll get it next time,” Griffin said.
This Saturday, Tufts will face conference rival No. 12 Middlebury in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
