MEDFORD, MA (October 11, 2025) – In a Homecoming Day meeting between Top 10 and top NESCAC teams, the #7 Tufts University field hockey team scored a 3-1 victory against #5 Bates College on Saturday at Ounjian Field.
With the win, Tufts improves to 10-2 overall and 7-1 in NESCAC. After today's results, the Jumbos and Middlebury College are atop the conference with one loss apiece. The teams meet in Vermont next Saturday. The Panthers host Wesleyan University tomorrow in conference action before next Saturday's game versus the Jumbos.
Bates, unbeaten as of a week ago today, took their second straight loss and fell to 9-2 overall and 5-2 in the conference.
The Jumbos, who celebrated Senior Day prior to the game, dominated the first quarter (7-0 shots, 3-0 corners), but did not score. In the second quarter, they were awarded a penalty stroke when a shot by
Eleanor Helm was headed into the goal before it was blocked by a Bobcat defender's foot.
Hannah Murray converted the penalty stroke with 5:18 to go in the second quarter and Tufts led 1-0.
Bates did not produce much offensive pressure until late in the first half. They had two corners and two shots on goal in the final five minutes of the half, but the Jumbos would take the 1-0 lead into intermission.
The Jumbos would control the third period as well and scored on a corner attempt. Helm inserted out to
Eleanor Luft up top and she blasted home the second goal of her career for a 2-0 Tufts advantage early in the third.
Tufts appeared to be comfortably in command, but then the fourth quarter got a little crazy. With 6:48 on the block, Bates was initially awarded a corner that was changed to a penalty stroke after the officials met and determined a Tufts player had committed an intentional back-stick violation. Tufts brought back-up goalie
Isabel Ginns into the game for the stroke. Bates' Haley Dwight mishit her attempt, and Ginns flashed her left pad to make the save and keep it a 2-0 game.
The Bobcats kept the pressure on though, receiving a corner at 5:50 of the fourth. The insert by Caroline Nowak went out to Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg up top. She avoided an oncoming Jumbo defender and then slid a shot inside the right post to pull Bates within 2-1.
Less than a minute later, Moloney-Kolenberg sliced another shot on goal that Jumbo starting keeper
Lydia Eastburn got her blocker on. The Bobcats would take two more corners unsuccessfully, and it would be the Jumbos who scored the next goal. A corner insert by
Lilly Ragusa went out to
Claire Casey, and her shot was deflected in by
Hannah Biccard with 55 seconds to play for a 3-1 Jumbo margin.
Shots finished 18-9 in favor of Tufts, as did corners 9-6. Eastburn made three saves and Ginn had the stroke stop for the Jumbos. Ava Donohue made eight saves for Bates.
Biccard,
Camille Clarke,
Lydia Eastburn,
Jordan Pittignano and
Gabby Sousa were recognized before the game on Senior Day for the Jumbos.
--JUMBOS--
