CAMBRIDGE, MA (March 6, 2024) -- The No. 4 Tufts University women's lacrosse team got 21 total points from their starting attack trio, as the Jumbos moved to 3-0 on the season with an emphatic 21-9 win over No. 21 MIT on Jack Barry Field Wednesday afternoon.
Junior
Margie Carden finished with a game-high six goals on 11 shots for the Jumbos, while her attacking teammates
Ella Lesperance finished with five goals and two assists and sophomore
Allie Zorn added four goals and three assists. The seven points for Zorn were a career-high, while Lesperance also established new career-highs in points and goals.
The Jumbos started fast with two goals in the first 4:02 of the game on unassisted strikes by Zorn and Carden, but MIT (2-1) countered with a pair of its own to make it 2-2. Zorn and Carden netted goals to round out the scoring in the first quarter, giving Tufts a 4-2 edge going into the second quarter.
Tufts exploded offensively in the second period, as
Madeline Delaney started a 10-2 run over the final 11:40 of the second quarter including four straight goals for Lesperance over the final 2:34 of the half to make it 14-5 at the halftime intermission.
The goals kept coming for Tufts in the second half, including first-year
Emily Leschin scoring her first career tally as a Jumbo to put a bow on the 21-9 win. Tufts held decided advantages in shots (38-16) and shots on goal (31-13), while also finished the game successful on all 14 clear attempts. Tufts also held a big 22-12 edge in draw controls.
Outside of the starting attack,
Caroline Cromwell finished with two goals for the Jumbos on two shots on goal, while sophomore
Nicola Donlan also tallied two assists.
Kate Deehan and
Schuyler Lloyd also each netted a goal, and senior middie
Emma Joyce added four ground balls, three draw controls and two ground balls.
Junior
Genna Gibbons finished with a team-best six draw controls, Delaney added five draw controls as well and Leschin posted two draw controls and two ground balls in addition to her goal. Pascale de Buran made two saves in earning the win, while first-year
Sophie Powless played the final quarter while stopping two shots in the victory.
MIT got two goals apiece from Meredith Arterburn, Gwen Flusche and Julianne Flusche, while Ashley Thomas added a goal and an assist.
The Jumbos (3-0) will continue their stretch against ranked opponents, hosting No. 13 Trinity College Saturday for Scooter's Game on Bello Field at noon.
--JUMBOS--
