LEXINGTON, VA (November 24, 2024) – An outstanding season for the Tufts University field hockey team came to a close with a 2-1 loss to Middlebury College in the 2024 NCAA Division III Championship game on Sunday at Washington and Lee University.
Down 2-0 in the fourth quarter, the Jumbos batted back and got a goal from
Kylie Rosenquest to make it a 2-1 game. Tufts then pressured in the Panther end for a four-minute stretch before Middlebury was able to run out the clock for the victory.
Middlebury (19-2) wins its seventh consecutive national championship and eighth in the last nine years. Tufts, who was playing in its fifth NCAA final, finishes its season at 19-3.
After a scoreless first half, the Panthers took a 1-0 lead when Lilly Branka made a run down the field and cut across the goal line on the left side. She put the ball in front and Caroline Segal was able to knock it in with 2:10 remaining in the third quarter.
Five minutes into the fourth quarter. Middlebury extended its lead to 2-0 when Claire McMichael and Georgianne Defeo broke in on a two-on-one. Charging down the right side, McMichael sent a pass left to a wide-open Defeo and she was able to get it past Jumbo goalkeeper
Lydia Eastburn.
The Jumbos, showing a resiliency they have had all season, had a quick response. On a corner chance,
Lainie Pearson sent a pass to the right to
Kylie Rosenquest who took a step and flipped a shot into an open right side of the cage with 9:54 remaining in the fourth.
Tufts had possession on the Middlebury side for the next few minutes, but were not able to get a shot off. The Panthers took control of possession for most of the final five minutes and were able to run out the clock for the win.
The Jumbos negated all 10 Middlebury corner attempts in the game. The Panthers' best corner opportunity had come right away when Eastburn saved a shot by Grace Keefe. Tufts also had a strong corner chance in the first quarter, but a shot by
Andrea DelGiudice just went wide.
Middlebury had advantages of 9-2 in shots and 7-1 in corners at halftime, but the Jumbo defense was standing tall. Eastburn had four saves in the first 30 minutes.
The third quarter was a stalemate until Branka's outstanding individual effort set up the game's first goal.
The Panthers finished with a 13-4 advantage on shots and 10-2 on corners. Eastburn had four saves in the game while Middlebury's Madeline DeLemme made one.
The loss is an unfortunate end to an excellent Tufts season. Head coach
Tina Mattera's team was the NESCAC champion for the first time since 2016 and reached the NCAA Championship Game for the first time since 2018. The Jumbos were unbeaten at Ounjian Field (12-0) and had a 13-game winning streak overall that included a remarkable four straight wins by shootout in the regular-season finale through the NESCAC Tournament.
Jumbos Eastburn,
Kayleigh McDonald and Kate McDonald were named to the All-Tournament Team for the Final Four Weekend.
--JUMBOS--
