WILLIAMSTOWN, MA (April 2, 2025) -- Despite a strong push from host Williams College Wednesday, the No. 2 Tufts University women's lacrosse team staved off the upset bid by the Ephs to earn a hard-fought 10-8 road win in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action from Farley-Lamb Field.
Tufts (10-0, 5-0 NESCAC) has had a habit of growing early leads and then adding to them throughout the lead, and the first part was definitely true Wednesday as the Jumbos led 6-2 after the first 15 minutes as senior
Caroline Conaghan and sophomore
Sophia Claps each had a pair of scores in the first frame.
Williams started to nudge back into the contest in the second quarter, as the Ephs (5-4, 2-3 NESCAC) outscored the Jumbos 3-1 led by a goal and an assist by Katy McCullough to make the score 7-5 Tufts at the break.
After halftime Williams pulled even closer with the period's lone goal by Franny Donohue to make it 7-6, as the quarter was dominated by outstanding goalkeeping by each squad with a combined nine total saves by the two keepers. In the fourth quarter, Conaghan put the Jumbos back up by two with her third of the game with help from junior
Allie Zorn to make it 8-6.
The Ephs refused to go away, getting a Juliet Kilborn goal minutes after the Conaghan score to make it a one-score game at 8-7 with 12:56 to play. Tufts would get a pair of stops following that score from Williams and Zorn netted a free position shot to give the Jumbos some breathing room with seven minutes to play at 9-7. Conaghan added her fourth of the game with 2:23 to play unassisted for more insurance, as the Jumbos were able to withstand a late goal by the Ephs to earn the win.
Conaghan had four goals and an assist, as the five points were a season-high for the senior, and Zorn had three points on two tallies and an assist. Claps added two scores on a game-high eight shots, and senior
Ella Lesperance scored one while setting up another.
Schutt also added a goal, two ground balls and six draw controls in the victory for Tufts, as
Madeline Delaney added five draw wins and a grounder.
Pascale de Buren was strong between the pipes with nine stops, picking up a team-high three loose balls.
Tufts held a 34-24 win in shots on Wednesday, also besting Williams with a 14-8 draw advantage. The Jumbos also were 3-for-9 on the eight-meter arc, while Williams was unsuccessful on both of their attempts.
Claudia Russell had three points on two goals an assist to pace the Ephs, while goalkeeper Caroline Pratt stopped 15 shots in a tough-luck losing effort.
Tufts will return to Bello Field this upcoming Saturday for a big NESCAC game, hosting No. 6 Wesleyan University at noon.
--JUMBOS--
