LEWISTON, ME (October 17, 2026) – Trailing for the first time all season in the fourth quarter, the #1 Tufts University field hockey team rallied for a 3-2 overtime win at #21 Bates College on Saturday afternoon.

The Jumbos remained unbeaten at 13-0 overall and 8-0 in NESCAC while extending their school-record winning streak to 18 games. Bates saw its five-game winning streak end and dropped to 8-4 overall and 3-4 in the conference.

Bates first-year Sammy Logan scored with 8:42 left in regulation to give the host Bobcats a 2-1 advantage. It marked the first time Tufts had trailed in a game since the NCAA Sweet 16 last year against Williams College on November 15, 2025.

However, less than two minutes later, Tufts sophomore sensation Eleanor Helm scored her second goal of the game, and the Jumbos tied the Bobcats at 2-2. Tufts would dominate the seven-on-seven overtime session, with sophomore Scarlett Carpenter scoring the game-winner off an assist from classmate Kate Wahler with 3:49 remaining.

Tufts won a NESCAC overtime game on the road for the third time this season, including 2-1 in two OTs at Wesleyan on September 23 and 2-1 at Hamilton on October 4.

An action-packed first quarter saw Tufts take a 1-0 lead on Helm's first goal of the game. After inserting the ball on a corner out to senior co-captain Claire Casey, Helm deflected Casey's shot through the legs of Bobcat junior goalie Ava Donohue with 5:45 on the clock.

The second quarter and most of the third were uneventful until Bates earned a corner with three minutes remaining in the third. Tufts was whistled twice for false starts and played the third Bates attempt with just two defenders. An initial shot by Bates senior Sophie O'Sullivan was saved by Tufts senior goalie Isabel Ginns, but the ball went to Bobcats junior Rose Gordon on the left side, and she sent it back into the cage with 2:39 left in the quarter.

Bates would take the lead in the middle of the fourth quarter when junior Elsa Copeland brought the ball into the circle on the left side and dribbled a shot in on Ginns. On the rebound, first-year Samantha Enerio got the ball over to Logan, who cleared space and drilled a shot to give Bates the lead.

The advantage was short-lived for the hosts. Tufts junior Eleanor Luft sent a long ball from beyond the 25-yard marker that got all the way into the goal area, where Helm controlled the ball and went to her backhand to score her second goal of the game and 15th of the season, tying the score at 2-2 with 6:53 remaining in regulation.

Tufts would earn four corners in overtime, and on the fourth, Helm's insert went out to Wahler, who sent it over to Luft, who then passed back to Wahler in the middle of the circle. Her hit went to Carpenter on the right side, who had an open cage in which to deposit the game-winner.

The Jumbos finished with advantages of 13-12 in shots (8-6 on goal) and 10-8 on corners in the closely contested game. Ginns made four saves for Tufts, and Donohue finished with five for Bates.

The Jumbos' victory is the 12th straight in the series against the Bobcats.