MEDFORD, MA (April 10, 2024) -- The No. 4 Tufts University women's lacrosse team posted a program record for goals in a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) game Wednesday, bouncing back from the team's lone loss of the season with an emphatic 23-5 win over Bates College from Bello Field.
The 23 goals ended up breaking the previous record of 21 goals in a game, set back in 1995 against Colby College, while Wednesday's goal tally was the tied for the sixth-most in a goal ever at Tufts. The goal total was also the most in a regular season game since tallying 24 against Babson College back on April 7, 2019.
The game was close after the first ten minutes, as Bates College (5-7, 1-6 NESCAC) tallied twice after the Jumbos started the game with three goals to make it 3-2 with 4:29 left in the opening period. Junior
Ella Lesperance scored from
Allie Zorn to make it 4-2 before
Margie Carden netted her second free position goal of the contest to make it 5-2 going to the second frame.
The second quarter would be when the Jumbos pulled away for good, as Tufts blanked Bates in the frame 10-0 highlighted by three goals from Lesperance to make it 15-2 at the break. Carden finished the 13-0 run with her 40th goal of the season, before Caroline Keating of Bates stopped the spurt with a goal to make it 16-3. Senior
Lucy Hodge scored twice town the stretch in the third, while graduate student
Kate Wujciak and first-year
Magdalena Rieper each tallied their first career goals to put a bow on the victory.
The Jumbos (11-1, 6-1 NESCAC) held a decided 45-17 edge in shots for the night, while Tufts posted a 21-9 advantage in draw controls while scoring on three of its six free-position attempts.
Lesperance tied her career-high for points in a game with eight, posting four goals to go with four assists on four shots on goal and a ground ball. Carden tallied four goals to go with two assists, netting a pair of strikes on four free-position attempts. Carden tallied her 182nd goal of her career on Wednesday, as she moved into second all-time in goals at Tufts passing the 180 from both Jenny Payette '82 and Rebecca Black '96. Carden is behind just the 192 scores from Emily Games '21. She also moved into a tie for seventh in points in a career with 231.
Zorn scored three times on the night, while first-year
Schuyler Lloyd tallied a career-high three scores for the Jumbos.
Emma Joyce posted two draw controls to go with a goal and assist, while
Madeline Delaney registered a goal and three draw controls.
Genna Gibbons picked up six draw controls and a grounder, and first-year
Emily Leschin finished with a career-high six draw controls with one caused turnover.
Caroline Conaghan had an effective game for Tufts with three ground balls, a score and an assist, while senior
Meg Hatton picked up two ground balls as well. First-year
Sophie Powless made her first collegiate start for Tufts in goal, making three saves over the first three quarters before
Pascale de Buren notched three stops in the fourth quarter.
Keating netted three goals and an assist in the loss for Bates.
Tufts will now look ahead to a big NESCAC game on Saturday, hosting No. 1 Middlebury College on Bello Field for Senior Day at noon in conference action.
--JUMBOS--
