No. 3 Tufts faced off against No. 2 Emory in their fourth NCAA semifinals appearance on Thursday. Despite a gritty performance and dominating possession, the Jumbos fell 3–0, and their season came to an end.
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.
The Jumbos came out victorious after five close sets in their match against No. 14 Wesleyan on Friday. Tufts won 25–22, 25–21, 25–21, 25–22, 15–12 in its final regular season game. The Jumbos entered the match at No. 4 in the NESCAC rankings and No. 1 in the national top 25 poll. They handed Wesleyan, first in the NESCAC, its only conference loss of the season.
No. 4 Tufts faced top NESCAC opponent No. 10 Middlebury in an away game on Saturday. The top 10 matchup proved to be a difficult test for the Jumbos, ending scoreless.
Both Tufts and Wesleyan came into the match nationally ranked by United Soccer Coaches at No. 6 and No. 21 respectively. “We knew it was going to be a tough battle, especially because they are undefeated and so are we,” sophomore forward Audrey Cromett said.
