MEDFORD, MA (October 30, 2025) - The Tufts University field hockey team enters the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament as the #1 seed for this fourth time this week.
NESCAC Championship Quarterfinals
Tufts vs. Amherst College
Date: Saturday, November 1, 2025
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Location: Medford, MA – Ounjian Field
Live Coverage:
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The Jumbos earned the top billing after a 9-1 conference season that was their best finish in the league since 2018. They were two games ahead 2-3-4 seeds Middlebury College, Bates College and Wesleyan University, who were all 7-2. It's the first time Tufts is #1 in NESCAC since 2016. They were the top team in 2010 and 2008 as well.
Head coach
Tina Mattera's Jumbos (13-2 overall) will face #8 seed Amherst College in the quarterfinals on Saturday (Nov. 1) at Ounjian Field starting at noon. If the Jumbos are able to get past the Mammoths, they would host the conference semifinals and championship game at Ounjian on November 8-9.
Amherst enters Saturday at 8-7 overall and they were 4-6 in the conference under head coach Carol Knerr.
Tufts defeated the Mammoths 3-1 during the regular season. After visiting Amherst got a goal from Molly Donegan to open the scoring, Tufts came back with goals from
Hannah Biccard,
Hannah Murray and
Claire Casey to earn the victory. The Jumbos have won 10 of the last 11 games in the series dating back to 2017.
This marks the third straight year that the teams will meet in the NESCAC Quarterfinals. Last year it took penalty strokes to determine the outcome with the Jumbos winning 2-1 (3-0 on strokes). In 2023 the Mammoths eliminated Tufts with a 3-2 overtime win. It's the fifth time overall that the teams have faced off in the conference tournament - all in the quarterfinals - including 2018 (2-0 Tufts win) and 2014 (1-0 Tufts win).
The Jumbos are the defending NESCAC champions, and are shooting for their fourth conference crown overall. They won under Coach Mattera in 2009 and 2016 as well. The Mammoths are vying for their first-ever league title. They were the runner-up in 2001.
Tufts is the top scoring team in the NESCAC by a wide margin with their 51 goals in 15 games (3.4 per game). Bates College is second with 39 goals. Amherst is ninth with 29 tallies (1.93 per game). Defensively, the Jumbos are second in NESCAC having allowed 15 goals, and the Mammoths rank seventh with 22 goals allowed.
Senior
Hannah Biccard has 13 goals for the Jumbos to lead the league.
Eleanor Helm's 10 goals in her first year are fifth. Helm is also tied for third in the conference with six assists. Biccard (27 total points) and Helm (26) are fourth and fifth respectively for points. Senior goalie
Lydia Eastburn's .787 save percentage is fourth in NESCAC.
For Amherst, first-year Emma Zhang is the only player with a top 20 ranking offensively with five assists which are tied for seventh. First-year Bella Kim leads the squad with five goals, while she and senior Justine Liguori (4 goals, 3 assists) are tied in points with 11. Sophomore goalie Kate Grady is eighth in the league with a .735 save percentage.
This is the 25th NESCAC Field Hockey Tournament, which begin in 2000. Tufts has qualified in 23 of the 25 years and earned a 28-19 record in those games. This is Amherst's 22nd time in the tournament with an 11-21 mark.
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--JUMBOS--
