MEDFORD, MA (November 6, 2024) - The Tufts University field hockey team is headed to Vermont this weekend for the 2024 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship. The #3 seed Jumbos (14-2) will play two-seed Williams College (14-2) in the semifinal round on Saturday (Nov. 9) at 1:30 PM.
Tufts will be looking to advance to the championship game on Sunday (Nov. 10) at noon. Top seed and host Middlebury College (15-1) will play fifth seed Bates College (11-5) in Saturday's other semifinal at 11 AM for a spot into the final.
Championship Details
Opponent: Tufts vs. Williams College (14-2, 9-1 NESCAC)
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2024
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Location: Middlebury, VT - Peter Kohn Field
Weather Forecast: Partly Cloudy, High 40s, Chance of Rain: 8%, Wind: SSW 5 MPH
Live Coverage:
LIVE STATS –
LIVE VIDEO
Jumbos vs. Conference Championship Opponents This Season
Tufts lost to Williams College 1-0 in a very close contest back on September 7 in Williamstown. It was the Ephs' first victory over the Jumbos since 2005. Tufts did have advantages in shots (12-6) and corners (5-1), but Williams' Kiki Higgins scored the lone goal of the game with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Should Tufts advance to Sunday's final they would face either a Middlebury team that they defeated 2-1 on October 19 or a Bates squad that the Jumbos won 2-1 against on October 12.
A Look at the Jumbos
The Jumbos have a ton of momentum with eight straight victories, including the win over Middlebury which ended the Panthers' 43-game winning streak. It hasn't always come easily for Tufts during their 8-0 run, as in each of their last two contests they had to go to the shootout round to defeat Bowdoin College in the regular-season finale and Amherst College in the NESCAC Quarterfinals. Tufts and Amherst were tied 1-1 through 80 minutes of regulation and OT, with
Hannah Biccard tallying the Jumbo goal.
With 35 points this fall (14 goals, 7 assists),
Andrea DelGiudice already has the sixth-best scoring season in Tufts history. She's second in the league for points and third for goals.
Kylie Rosenquest's eight assists are fourth in the league, while both she and
Hannah Biccard have had 20-point seasons overall.
Lydia Eastburn is the current NESCAC Player of the Week after helping Tufts earn the back-to-back shootout wins by stopping six of the eight attempts she faced in the two shootout rounds. She enters the weekend with a 0.79 goals against average and .745 save percentage.
The Jumbos are third as a team in the conference offensively (2.72 goals for average) and second defensively (0.78 goals against average). They are seeking their third conference title this weekend to go with wins in 2009 and 2016.
A Look at the Ephs
Williams lost to Middlebury 3-0 in the regular-season finale on October 29 which determined the top seed for the post-season. That put the Ephs as the #2 seed and they eliminated seven-seed Connecticut College 2-0 in the quarterfinals with goals by Madeline Rowland and Claire Colvin. The Ephs, who defeated Bates 2-1 on October 5, had their only other loss come 1-0 against highly-ranked Salisbury University on October 19.
The Ephs are the top defensive team in NESCAC with a 0.62 goals against average. Goalie Ellie Smith leads the league with a .815 save percentage for a Williams team that has had nine shutouts in its 16 games. The Ephs score at a 2.63 goals per game average. Higgins leads NESCAC with 14 assists, and she is tied for fifth in overall scoring with 28 points. Pilar Torres is the leading goal scorer with eight.
Williams won three of the first five NESCACÂ Championships back in the early 2000's and are looking to add to that list this weekend.
A Look at the Panthers
Middlebury is the six-time defending NESCAC champions and they enter the weekend seeking their 11th title overall. The loss to Tufts is the only blemish on their 2024 schedule to date. As noted above, they defeated Williams 3-0 to earn the #1 seed in the tournament and knocked off Hamilton College 5-2 in the quarterfinal round. Caroline Segal scored twice in that game, while Georgianne Defeo, Hanna Medwar and Emily Stone recorded one goal each. The Panthers won 3-1 in their regular-season game versus Bates.
With 88 goals in their 16 games, Middlebury's 5.44 goals for average is tops in the league by a wide margin. They have four of the top eight scorers in the league led by Segal's 44 points on 18 goals and eight assists. Defeo with 15 goals is second in NESCAC for that category, while Amy Griffin leads the squad in assists with 12. The Middlebury goals against average of 0.82 is third among NESCAC, though their team save percentage (.698) is ninth. Izzy Redzic has started all 16 games in the cage.
A Look at the Bobcats
Like Tufts, Bates went to a shootout to win in the quarterfinals. Against #4 seed Wesleyan University, five-seed Bates was tied 1-1 through regulation and overtime and then won 3-2 in the shootout. Maria Femia scored the Bobcat goal early in the second quarter. As detailed above, Bates is 0-3 versus the other teams at the semifinals.
A 2.25 goals for average by the Bobcats is eighth in NESCAC. Anna Cote is the only Bates player in the league's top 20 for scoring with 10 goals and five assists for 25 points. Haley Dwight has made a remarkable nine defensive saves for the Bobcats, who are backed by Ava Donohue in goal. Her .746 save percentage is fourth in the conference.
Bates seeks both its first berth into the NESCAC Championship final and its first conference title this weekend.
Visit 2024 NESCAC Championship Central
HERE.
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