MEDFORD, MA (April 23, 2025) -- The No. 2 Tufts University women's lacrosse squad shook off a slow start to outscore visiting Bowdoin College 17-5 over the final three quarters to earn a 22-11 victory in the regular season finale on Bello Field Wednesday evening.
With the win Tufts (14-1, 9-1 New England Small College Athletic Conference) earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference tournament and will take on Bates College Saturday at noon in the quarterfinals on Bello Field.
The Jumbos took an early 2-0 lead just 100 seconds into the game on goals from
Elsa Schutt and
Ella Lesperance, but Bowdoin's Lauren Burke netted three straight followed by a tally by Ellie Fabbro to make it 4-2 Polar Bears.
Tufts tied the game at four, but Bowdoin continued to take one-goal leads including a 7-6 edge at 8:48 of the second quarter after another Burke goal. The Jumbos offense would explode though over the final 6:32 of the first half, as
Allie Zorn started a 6-0 run to finish the frame with Tufts up 13-7.
The momentum continued into the third quarter, as
Margie Carden scored man-up followed by an unassisted goal from
Emma Joyce to make it 14-7.
Tufts pushed its lead up to double-digits with just under 10 minutes to play in regulation on another goal from Carden, and the freshmen trio of
Neta Leschly,
Anna Mollahan and
Annie Bergeron capped the win with late goals.
Carden had a big game in the last regular season contest of her storied career, as she finished with five goals and three assists for eight points. Carden, the all-time leading point and goal scorer at Tufts, became the first-ever player in program history with 300 career points with 302.
Joyce finished with three goals and an assist, scoring on two of her four free-position shots, and Zorn recorded four goals as well. Senior
Caroline Conaghan had a strong evening with two goals and two assists, as she pulled to within two goals of 100 for her career.
Senior
Kate Mastrobuono continued to be a strong presence off the bench, registering four points on two goals and two assists, and Lesperance had three points on a goal and two helpers. In all, 11 players scored for the Jumbos Wednesday.
Senior
Genna Gibbons led all players with eight draw controls, and
Madeline Delaney had two ground balls and six draw wins as well. Schutt also had four draw controls and three ground balls, and
Pascale de Buren stopped five shots for the Jumbos.
Burke had a game-high seven goals to pace the Polar Bears on Wednesday, and Mara Muse also scored twice in the loss for Bowdoin (6-9, 2-8 NESCAC).
Tufts will now turn its attention to the NESCAC Tournament, its 21st appearance in the postseason and 17th straight. Tufts is the No. 2 seed for the first time since 2019, and Saturday's meeting with Bates will be the first NESCAC Tournament match-up between the two teams.
--JUMBOS--
