Field Hockey Earns 16th NCAA Berth, Hosts Dean on Wednesday

MEDFORD, MA (November 9, 2025) -- The Tufts University field hockey team earned an at-large berth into the 2025 NCAA Division III Tournament on Sunday evening, and will host Dean College in the opening round on Wednesday, November 12 at Ounjian Field. Game time is 5:00 PM.

Head coach Tina Mattera's Jumbos are 14-3 overall and were the #1 seed in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) after earning a 9-1 record in the league this year. Though Tufts lost in the NESCAC semifinals, their strong performance against a difficult schedule earned them the #5 spot in the final NPI rankings and secured one of the 10 available NCAA at-large berths.

The selection for the Jumbos is their 16th in program history, while this marks the seventh consecutive season that Tufts will be in the NCAA field. They have a 27-14 tournament record, including winning the NCAA championship in 2012. They have played in four other NCAA Finals (2008-16-18-24), including last season.

Dean College won the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) automatic bid after taking the conference title with a 3-1 victory against Colby-Sawyer College on Saturday. This is the first NCAA Tournament trip for the Bulldogs, who were 9-1 in GNAC action this year and come into Wednesday's game at 16-7 overall.
 
The winner of the Tufts-Dean game will travel to top-four national seed Bates College for the NCAA "Sweet 16" on Saturday (Nov. 15). There they will face the winner of the Williams College (8-8) versus Vassar College (13-6) first-round match on Saturday at 2:00 PM. The winner of the Stevens Institute of Technology (18-2) and Amherst College (8-8) first-round game will face host Bates (15-3) also on Saturday at 11:00 AM. The NCAA "Elite 8" at the Bates site will be played on Sunday (Nov. 16) at 1:00 PM.

A total of 28 teams earned berths (18 slots were dedicated to automatic qualifiers). Four semifinalists will advance to Robin Sheppard Field in Hartford, Connecticut, where Trinity College will host the final two rounds of the tournament Nov. 21-23.

Tickets for Wednesday's game are $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.

For the complete NCAA Tournament bracket, click HERE.