Box Score SALEM, Va. - Playing in their second consecutive Final Four, the Tufts women's lacrosse team was led by its defense in an exciting 12-10 victory over St. John Fisher at Roanoke College on Saturday afternoon. Tufts moves on to play in the national championship game tomorrow.
Head coach Courtney Shute's Jumbos will play Salisbury for the 2021 NCAA title on Sunday at 5:00 pm in Salem.
On Saturday, the Jumbo defense held the Cardinals to 10 goals, 4.5 below their season average, and limited Fisher's leading scorers Brittany Halpin and Alyssa Sproule to two goals each. Madison Lehan and Lindsay Erickson both caused two turnovers and Molly Laliberty finished with nine saves for Tufts.
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In a strong first half, the Jumbos used their advantage in the draw circle and on the defensive end to close the half up 8-4. Junior Anna Clarke opened the scoring at the 28:30 mark with a goal scored while Fisher's Alyssa Sabotka was sitting with a yellow card. Halpin evened the game at 1-1, scoring 77 seconds later on a free-position shot.
Causing turnovers, hustling for ground balls and forcing a shot-clock violation, the Jumbo defensive unit put forth a valiant effort in helping thwart the opponents' attempts and ultimately regain possession for the Jumbos. The lineup of Lehan, Erickson, Emma Tomlinson and Becca Gable communicated well and turned away several impressive St. John Fisher possessions. In the circle the Jumbos also battled hard, winning seven compared to the opponents' six in the half.
Their hard work sparked several goals in transition, as the offense was able to capitalize on their teammates' momentum and take it to the cage. Hustle plays on defense led to goals by senior Emily Games (25:59), Colette Smith (23:18), Games again (21:34), Claire Wright (20:30) and Clark (18:40), giving the Jumbos an early 6-1 lead.
The Cardinals would stem the Tufts momentum with back-to-back goals by Sydney DeGirolamo and Sproule making it a 6-3 game halfway into the first period. Tufts would get the next two though, by Wright and Games, before Fisher's Kathleen Salanger closed the first-half scoring at 4:52.
In the second half the Jumbos' defensive mindset was again key, as Tufts withstood a valiant St John Fisher comeback. The Cardinals twice closed to within one goal at 10-9 and 11-10, but like they had done in the Elite 8 against TCNJ the Jumbo defense made the necessary plays to win. Whether it was the attack unit who several times forced SJF into burning upwards of 40 seconds off of the shot clock due to their stifling ride, the midfielders who fought for every possession, Laliberty who made four impressive second half saves or the defenders who caused two shot-clock violations, Tufts was able to hold off a serious comeback attempt.
St. John Fisher scored three of the first four goals in the opening 11 minutes of the half. Salanger's tally at 19:16 pulled the Cardinals within 9-7. DeGirolamo assisted two goals during that stretch.
One of the Fisher shot-clock turnovers resulted in a beautiful transition goal by Clarke, assisted by Catherine Lawliss giving Tufts a 10-7 advantage. The Cardinals scored free-position goals a minute apart by Sabotka and Sproule though, and they were down just 10-9 with 11 minutes still to play.
Even as SJF continued their attack, the Jumbos kept their composure and locked in on defense. That allowed for seniors Kirsten Grazewski (9:06) and Games (5:03) to sandwich goals around one by DeGirolamo that had pulled Fisher within 11-10. After Games' final goal, Lehan and Clarke both caused turnovers and won the ground ball, and Fisher hit a post. Tufts soon secured the victory and the team's first trip to the NCAA Championship Game.
"I'm really proud of our team's effort. We never expect perfection, just high-level effort the whole time, and that's exactly what we got," explained Jumbos head coach Courtney Shute in the post-game press conference.
Playing in her second Final Four game, Tufts fifth-year senior and all-time leading goal scorer Emily Games led all scorers with four goals. "Emily is a quiet competitor, and she leads by example," said Coach Shute. "We couldn't be more excited to have her for a fifth year. I think she came back for a reason, to help bring her team somewhere it has never been before, and she's doing exactly that."
Clarke contributed three goals with an assist and four draw controls to the Jumbo victory. Ananda Kao controlled three draws and won two ground balls. Grazewski finished with a goal, two assists, a caused turnover and a ground ball. Lawliss also finished with a goal and two assists.
DeGirolamo's game-high five points (2 goals, 3 assists) led the Cardinals. Salanger scored twice and earned three ground balls. Mackenzie Alexander recorded a game-high eight draw controls, while Logan Chase was superb defensively with four ground balls and five caused turnovers. Claudia Mocciaro stopped eight shots in the Fisher net.
Tufts (10-0) will look for a measure of revenge against Salisbury (19-0), who defeated the Jumbos 14-11 in the 2019 Final Four.
| Watch Post-Game Press Conference With Senior Emily Games ... |
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