MEDFORD, MA (October 26, 2023) -- The Tufts University women's soccer squad will open New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action this Saturday on the road at Amherst College, battling the top-seeded Mammoths at 12:30 p.m. in Amherst, MA. The Jumbos come into the weekend 7-4-4 on the season, going 3-4-3 in the NESCAC. Tufts has played well on the road this season though, going 4-1-3 away from Medford with its lone loss coming Tuesday at Bowdoin College.
Game Details
2023 NESCAC Tournament Homepage
Opponent: vs. Amherst College (13-1-1, 8-1-1 NESCAC)
Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
Time: 12:30 p.m.
Location: Amherst, MA – Hitchcock Field (
Directions)
Weather: Pretty Cloudy, High 70s, Chance of Rain: 0%, Wind: Calm
Live Coverage:
LIVE STATS –
LIVE VIDEO
Mammoths vs. Jumbos All-Time
The Jumbos are 19-21-7 all-time against Amherst College since 1978, as Tufts holds an 11-8-5 mark against the Mammoths on the road. Tufts fell to Amherst College 4-1 earlier this season in Medford, getting an
Elsi Aires goal to tie the game in the second half for the Jumbos. Amherst has won four of the last five meetings with Tufts, including a 1-0 overtime victory last year in the NESCAC Championship semifinals. Tufts is 0-3-1 against Amherst all-time in the NESCAC Tournament, as the Jumbos look for their second NESCAC title in program history.
A Look At The Jumbos
Head coach
Martha Whiting and the rest of the Jumbos women's soccer squad will look to bounce back after going 0-2-1 over the last three contests of the year. Tufts has qualified for all but one of the 23 NESCAC tournaments, and have reached the semifinals in four of the last five tournaments. 2023 marks the first time in program history that Tufts will be the No. 8 seed, though the No. 8 seed has won the quarterfinal round twice in NESCAC history the latest being a 2-0 win by Wesleyan over Middlebury in 2012.
The Jumbos have posted the conference's third-best scoring offense in 2023, as the group has posted 2.067 goals per game, which sits behind Amherst and Connecticut College. Tufts has taken the second-most shots of any school in the NESCAC, while its 143 shots on target is also second-most this season. Helping that total is
Elsi Aires, so is currently the league's top shot taker with 63 on the season including a league-best 30 shots on frame. Aires is currently second in the league in goals this season with eight, adding a team-high four assists as well.
Thalia Greenberg has scored six times and dished out two assists including one Tuesday at Bowdoin, and
Erin Duncan has seven points on two goals and three helpers.
First-year
Emily Nicholas has scored three times in her 15 games of action, while senior
Nicola Sommers and first-year
Waverly Sumner each have three goals and an assist. Defensively,
Olivia Patz and
Lena Sugrue lead the backline while
Jordan Cushner and
Maggie Rogers have done well as outside backs in 2023. The Jumbos have allowed 1.33 goals per game, second-most in the league. First-year
Gigi Edwards has started 11 games this year, allowing 0.94 goals per game while posting a save percentage of .800.
Whiting is in her 24th season with the Jumbos, sitting with a 226-125-47 all-time mark as the head coach of the Tufts University women's soccer program.
A Look At The Mammoths
The top-seeded Mammoths of Amherst College come into Saturday's game riding high, bringing a six-match winning streak into the NESCAC Championships. Amherst's lone loss came at home to Williams College, a 1-0 defeat to their rivals on September 30, but since then the Mammoths have outscored their opposition 22-0 en route to six straight wins. Eight of the Mammoths' 13 wins this season have come at home, while Amherst is 8-1-1 in the NESCAC having tied Middlebury College 2-2 back on Saturday, September 9.
Amherst has one of the top offensive units in the nation this season, as the Mammoths lead the NESCAC in goals with 52 while their goals per game of 3.47 ranks 17th in the country. Amherst is ninth in Division III with 2.93 assists per game, while also holding teams to just 0.47 goals per contest. Patience Kum ranks first in the NESCAC with 12 goals this season, while also leading the league with 25 points. Abby Schwartz has been a very capable sidekick to Kum, as she has posted seven goals and six assists for 20 points, while Brooke Ingemi and Precious Novidzro have both potted five goals. Fiona Bernet has added four goals and three assists, and Liza Katz has a team-high seven assists.
The defensive has been equally as strong for Amherst, as Charlotte Huang, Sierra Rosado and Ella Johnson have helped fortify the unit on the season. Amherst has played three keepers pretty consistently, as Lulu Fickes has not allowed a goal in 511:38 minutes of action this season. Katya Besch has allowed just one goal this year in 383 minutes, while Mika Fisher has made 15 saves in 454 minutes.
Amherst is coming off its sixth NESCAC title in program history last year, and is the No. 1 seed for the third consecutive season. The Mammoths have won league championships six times, adding 2022 to the list of 2001, 2003, 2011, 2016 and 2019. Head coach Jen Hughes is in her 19th season at the helm of the Mammoths, going 240-65-36 (.757) while being the winningest coach in program history.
--JUMBOS--
