Box Score 
BALTIMORE – Senior Marguerite Salamone scored two goals to lift the Tufts University field hockey team to a 3-0 NCAA Regional semifinal victory over Denison University at Johns Hopkins University's Homewood Field on Saturday.
With the win the Jumbos improve to 15-4 on the season and advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals tomorrow when they will play host Johns Hopkins at 1 pm. The Blue Jays defeated Messiah 3-2 in Saturday's other Regional semifinal at the site. The Tufts-Hopkins winner will go on to the NCAA "Final Four" November 23-24 in Manheim, Pa.
Denison ends their season with a 17-4 overall record.
After a back-and-forth first 14 minutes in the first quarter, it was Salamone who put the Jumbos on the board with 56 seconds to go in the quarter. Following a Tufts corner, junior Beth Krikorian took a shot at the top of the circle that managed to get through traffic and eventually found Salamone for the redirection into the bottom left corner of the cage. Sophomore Sophie Schoeni was also credited with the assist.
After a scoreless second quarter, the Jumbos led 1-0 at intermission. They had a 5-1 advantage in shots and corners were tied 2-2 through 30 minutes. Tufts forced Denison keeper Teya Adams to make four saves, including three in the second quarter.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Krikorian would tally her seventh goal of the season, and her fifth in five games, to give Tufts a two-goal cushion. Off another Tufts corner, senior co-captain Rachel Hamilton attempted a shot that was blocked. However, Krikorian scooped up the loose ball and managed to find the back of the cage.
Salamone would add another goal for good measure ten minutes into the final quarter. Off a corner where the ball was bobbled, Hamilton passed to junior teammate Alexis Chauvette who fired a one-time shot that was blocked. Salamone was right in front of the cage though and was able to score her sixth goal of the season.
The Denison Big Red had some opportunities throughout this matchup, including a goal that was waived off. Denison also had back-to-back corners in the fourth quarter that went unfulfilled. Tufts locked down defensively and controlled the game for a large majority of this contest. The shutout is their seventh of the season.
Tufts tallied a total of 12 shots throughout the game, while Denison produced just three shots. The Jumbos earned six penalty corners to Denison's four. Stallman stopped both shots she faced in the Jumbo cage, while Denison's Adams finished with seven saves.
The Jumbos and Hopkins last played in the NCAA semifinals last season with Tufts winning 3-1 to earn a berth into the national championship game. Head coach Tina Mattera's team will be looking to go to their second straight "Final Four," third in the last three years and sixth overall.
Watch the Tufts Post-Game Press Conference ...
