Women's Lacrosse Prepares For NESCAC Semifinal

MIDDLEBURY, VT (May 2, 2023) -- The Tufts University women's lacrosse team, currently ranked No. 6/7 in the major polls, travels to Middlebury, VT looking to capture its third straight New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title. The Jumbos take on Wesleyan University in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Saturday at Peter Kohn Field. Tufts is the No. 3 seed in the NESCAC Tournament and Wesleyan is No. 2.

Championship Details:
2023 NESCAC Women's Lacrosse Championship
Dates: May 6-7, 2023
Location: Middlebury, VT – Peter Kohn Field (Directions)
Coverage: TOURNAMENT WEBSITE

Earlier This Season – Tufts vs. Wesleyan
The Jumbos and Cardinals played a tightly contested contest that Wesleyan was victorious in, 14-10 at Bello Field. The Cardinals took a 10-3 lead going into halftime after outscoring the Jumbos 6-1 in the second quarter. The lead grew to 14-5 late in the third quarter before the Jumbos went on a 5-0 scoring run including two goals from Alexa Amorosino and Margie Carden. Courtney Kaufman came in the second half and made six saves.
 
All-Time With Wesleyan
Tufts is 33-7 against Wesleyan all-time in a series dating back to 1976, having won five of the last six matchups dating back to 2018. Prior to this season's loss, the Jumbos' last loss to Wesleyan was also at home in 2017. Tufts and Wesleyan last played in the NESCAC Tournament in 2019 with the Jumbos winning 11-8. 

A Look At The Jumbos
Tufts enters the weekend with a 13-3 record and an 8-2 conference record. The Jumbos have wins over six ranked opponents. Tufts ranks sixth in the NESCAC in scoring margin this season, outscoring teams by 2.6 on average, while scoring the fifth-most goals of any team in the conference with 205.
 
Offensively, Margie Carden leads the squad in goals with 44, netting 3 goals a game for the Jumbos. Emma is right behind her with 41 goals, which ranks ninth in the NESCAC. Joyce's name is littered in the league leaders, as she is now tied for first in the NESCAC in draw controls with a program-record 99. Madeline Delaney has scored 22 goals to go with 11 assists, while Caroline Walter has 19 tallies on the season with Caroline Conaghan and Allie Zorn each scoring 18. Carden, Joyce and Delaney all have three game-winning goals as well this season. 

Defensively, preseason All-American Becca Gable leads the squad with 17 caused turnovers, and Joyce has also tallied 15 caused turnovers as well. Genna Gibbons has posted 20 draw controls, 11 caused turnovers and 15 ground balls this season, adding nine goals. Mary Grace Reynolds and Meg Hatton have been solid leaders for Tufts defensively as well, and Courtney Kaufman has settled in as the starting goalkeeper with the second highest save percentage in the conference of .492, making 122 saves on the season. 

The Jumbos are coming off their NESCAC Quarterfinal victory over Amherst this past Saturday, winning 11-9. In the game Carden scored four times with Joyce adding two. Kathryn Fernandopulle caused three turnovers with Kaufman making eight saves.  

Tufts is under the direction of head coach Courtney Shute, who helped the program to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament Finals along with repeat NESCAC titles. Shute has led Tufts to 118 wins as the head coach, now in her 10th season. 

A Look At The Cardinals 
Wesleyan travels to Vermont on Saturday with a 14-2 overall record, going 8-2 in the NESCAC this season. The Cardinals are in search of their first-ever NESCAC title in 2023, as they have lost in the finals once before, losing to Tufts in the 2021 final. This is the 13th NESCAC Tournament appearance for Wesleyan. 

Wesleyan has won their last six games including last week's victory over No. 7 seed Williams, 11-6, in the NESCAC Quarterfinal. They are ranked 4th in the major polls.
 
The Cardinals offense comes from several different players as four players that have scored 20 or more goals. Olivia Lai leads the way with 40 goals this season including 21 free-position goals. She is also sixth on the team in caused turnovers with 14. Kate Balicki is a strong midfield option for the Cardinals as she has netted 34 goals to go along with nine assists for 43 points. Laura Baine and Kendall Mittleman each have tallied 22 goals with Mittleman adding 20 assists.

Chessy Greenwald leads the team with 45 points and 28 assists as she facilitates the offense. Gil Horst and Greenwald have 17 goals this season as Horst is third on the team in draw controls with 21. Defensively, Erin Trotta has posted a team-high 34 caused turnovers and 43 ground balls.

In goal, Abby Wolk leads the Cardinals with a 12-1 record. She has a 46.6 save percentage with 68 saves. Izzy Weintraub has appeared in 13 games with 45.6 save percentage with 31 saves.

Wesleyan is under the direction of eight-year head coach Kim Williams. Williams was the head coach at Stockton University for two years before becoming the Wesleyan Head Coach.
 
In the other semifinal matchup, No. 1 seed Middlebury College will take on No. 4 seed Colby College at 12 p.m.

Earlier This Season – Middlebury vs. Colby
The Panthers and Mules faced off in the regular season on April 15th in Waterville, ME as Middlebury picked up the win 17-5. In the game, Hope Shut scored seven goals as the Panther's defense held the Mules scoreless in both the second and third quarter. The defense caused seven turnovers in the game.
 
All-Time History- Middlebury vs Colby
Middlebury leads the series between the two schools all time 23-12 dating back to 2000. The Panthers have won the last four matchups against Colby with the Mules last win coming in 2018. The two teams have faced off 10 times previously in the NESCAC tournament before with Colby winning the past two matchups in 2017 and 2014. Middlebury's last win over Colby in the NESCAC tournament came back in 2013. The two teams squared off four consecutive times from 2007-2010. The series if 5-5 in NESCAC tournament games.
 
A Look At The Panthers
Middlebury enters the weekend with a 16-0 record and a 10-0 conference record. They are ranked No. 1 in all major polls and have 11 wins over ranked opponents.
 
The Panthers are led by two 50 goal scorers, Hope Shue, and Jane Earley. Shue leads the way with 53 goals to go along with 13 assists and 30 draw controls. Earley is right behind Shue in goal with 52 this season and has 17 assists. Earley and Emma Joyce for Tufts are tied atop the NESCAC in draw controls with 99.  
 
Kelcey Dion is third on the team in points with 37, 25 goals and 12 assists. Susan Rowley is the teams third leading scorer with 28 goals this season. Caroline Messer and Maggie Coughlin also have scored more than 20 goals for the Panthers.
 
Defensively, Erica Barr leads the way with 32 caused turnovers to go along with 57 draw controls. In total, the Panthers have eight different players that have 10 or more caused turnovers.
 
Starting in net is Annie Enrietto with a save percentage of 45.6 and has 68 saves. She has a 6.26 goal against average.
 
Middlebury is head coached by Kate Livesay in her ninth season in charge of the Panthers. In total this is her 18th season being a head coach as she coached Trinity College from 2006-2014.
 
A Look At The Mules
Colby comes into the NESCAC semifinal with a record of 12-4 and a 7-3 conference record. They defeated Trinity in the quarterfinal round, 12-10. Nationally they are ranked 12th in the major polls. They have won 12 of the their last 13 games.
 
On offense, Annie Eddy leads the way with 43 goals with Gianna Bruno tallying 70 points, 25 goals and 45 assists. Paige Saudek is a 31-goal scorer as Elizabeth Hennessey and Ally Franz scoring 29 goals. Julia Jardina has 21 goals along with leading the team in draw controls with 95. Hennessey is third in draw controls with 57.
 
Defensively, Jillian Mazzocca, Hennessey, and Kat Munter all have 10 or more caused turnovers with Mazzocca leading the way 18. Ainsley Dion is also key for the Mules in draw with 61 draw controls.
 
Sarah Hearns leads the Mules in goal starting every game. She has a 37.8 save percentage with 65 saves this season. Jillian Kane has split the reps with a 29.6 save percentage and 16 saves.
 
Colby is head coached by Karen Henning in her 16th year in charge of the Mules. She is in her 22nd year being a head coach.
 
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 The two semifinal winners will square off in the NESCAC Championship game on Sunday May 7 at 12:00 p.m. at Peter Kohn Field.

                                                                                                                --JUMBOS--