MEDFORD, MA (October 11, 2025) - The number five ranked Tufts University women's soccer team celebrated their Senior Class of 2026 with a thrilling 2-1 win in a Saturday New England Small College Athletic Conference contest against the Bates College Bobcats.
The pregame celebrations saw seniors
Kianna Hill, Camill Lu,
Caroline Kelly,
Elsi Aires, Julianna Rosen,
Aoife O'Reilly,
Anna Griffin and
Lena Sugrue honored for their contributions to the program. During their time at Tufts, the Jumbos have played to an impressive 45-15-8 record, including 20 wins within the NESCAC. Their contributions to the team will never be forgotten, but the celebrations were quickly replaced by a steely focus by the Jumbos as they got set to take on a scrappy Bates side.
The Jumbos (10-0-1, 6-0-1 NESCAC) were sharp to start off the match. Their play in the midfield, led by junior
Emily Nicholas, overwhelmed their visitors to the point where the Bobcats (3-4-3, 0-4-2 NESCAC) were completely unable to leave their own half.
The Jumbos piled on the pressure. Wingers
Jordyn Miller and
Waverly Sumner were doing a fantastic job at working the ball deep into the corner, while senior
Elsi Aires was excellent at holding the ball. Their attack was humming along right from the kickoff, but it would take them 15 minutes to open the scoring. First year winger
Claire Brady stepped on as a sub, and scored with minutes of taking the field. Sumner began the play on the wing, working the ball to an overlapping Aires. The senior striker sent the ball in on goal, forcing a save out of Bates goalkeeper Sydney Litney. Litney was unable to hold onto the ball, and the rebound trickled over to Brady on the backpost. She roofed the ball into the goal, scoring her first goal as a Jumbo and giving her team the 1-0 lead. The lead held until halftime, and the Bobcats would fail to record a single shot in the first half.
The second half saw the Jumbos resume their stranglehold over the game. Their offense was making everything look easy as they continued to circle around their target like a lion stalks its unaware prey. Senior
Elsi Aires cashed in on her senior day with a goal in the 76th minute. Brady repaid the favor from the first half, sliding the ball into an awaiting Aires in the center of the attacking third. The goal-hungry striker fired a shot off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net for Tufts' second goal of the game.
Senior
Kianna Hill came on as a substitute goalkeeper, and was immediately met with bad luck as an arcing shot from distance snuck into the goal. From there, the senior was essential down the stretch. The Bobcats made a late push as they sought out the equalizer, but Hill made a huge save in the 86th minute to keep the score at 2-1.
That score became the final score after the final whistle, and the Jumbos hung on to win their 10th game of the 2025 season. They improved to 10-0-1 on the year and earned their sixth win within NESCAC competition. They will stay within the conference as they take on the Amherst College Mammoths on Tuesday at 4:00 pm on Bello Field.
--JUMBOS--
