MEDFORD, MA (May 19, 2026) -- The No. 4 Tufts University women's lacrosse travels to Rochester, NY Friday at noon to take on No. 1 Middlebury College in the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Semifinals at Judson Stadium on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology. The Jumbos are back in the NCAA semifinals for the second straight season, looking for their first NCAA title in program history this weekend.
Game Details
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Game Notes (PDF)
Schedule:
May 22, 2026
Tufts (17-3) vs. Middlebury (21-0) - Noon
Salisbury (20-0) vs. Wesleyan (18-3) - 3:00 PM
Location: Rochester, NY | Judson Stadium
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Against Midd
Tufts is 6-26 against Middlebury all-time, as Friday is the second meeting of the season between the two squads. Middlebury eked out a 11-10 win back on March 28 in Medford, as a chance to score from the Jumbos went just high in the closing seconds. The Jumbos have played Middlebury three times in the NCAA Tournament prior to Friday, with the Jumbos winning one of the three match-ups. Tufts knocked off Middlebury 13-12 back in 2011 in the NCAA quarterfinals, while Middlebury defeated Tufts in the 2022 and 2025 championship games.
First of All
- Tufts is making its fifth NCAA Final Four appearance this weekend, all since the 2019 season. In each of the last three, the Jumbos have advanced to the NCAA title game.
- Tufts is making its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance this season, all since the 2009 campaign.
- Tufts has made its way to Rochester with wins over Haverford, Gettysburg and Williams the last two weekends.
- Friday will be just the second neutral site game fo the season for the Jumbos, as Tufts fell in overtime to Wesleyan in overtime in the NESCAC semifinals.
- Tufts is making back-to-back NCAA Final Four appearances for the second time in program history. Tufts made it to this point in 2021 and 2022. Tufts also made the Final Four in 2019, but 2020's season was cancelled due to CoVID-19.
- Tufts has been ranked in the top four of the IWLCA Division III poll all season, with the latest ranking coming at No. 4.
- Tufts has dropped three games this season, all by one goal and two in overtime.
- The Jumbos rank first in the NESCAC in scoring offense with 15.65 goals per game, 18th nationally.
- Clearing has been a key point for the Jumbos this season, ranking No. 13 in Division III with an 87.7 percent clip.
- Tufts is first in the NESCAC in assists with 8.25 per game, let by
Eleanor Helm and her 48 this season.
- Freshman
Eleanor Helm set the Tufts points record for a season on Sunday against Williams, as her 11 points upped her season mark to 97.
- Tufts currently has six players with 20 or more goals on the season, led by the 58 tallies from
Allie Zorn.
Tufts In The Tourney
- The Jumbos are in the NCAA Tournament for the eight straight season, which is the longest stretch in program history.
- Tufts has won at least one game in all of its tournament appearances, while making the quarterfinals in seven straight seasons.
- In neutral site games in NCAA Tournament play, Tufts is 9-4 all-time.
- The Jumbos are 2-2 against NESCAC teams in the NCAA Tournament all-time.
Tournament Thus Far
- First-year
Eleanor Helm leads all players in the NCAA Tournament in points and assists so far, as the newcomer has 22 points through three NCAA games. Helm has dished out 12 assists, most of any player in the tournament.
- Helm and
Allie Zorn rank fifth in goals in the tournament with 10 apiece.
Schuyler Lloyd also has six while sophomore
Anna Mollahan has netted five.
- Tufts is fourth in the NCAA Tournament in draw control percentage, getting the draw in 64.6 percent of available draw controls.
Elsa Schutt leads Tufts with 4.33 per game.
- The Jumbos have fired 34 shots per game so far in the tourney, fourth-most of any team and most of any remaining team.
- Tufts 17 draw controls per game is second-most of any team in the tournament behind just the 18.50 from CMS.
More Stat Stuffers
- Tufts has played the 5th hardest schedule of any team in Division III lacrosse this season, as past and future opposition have a .719 winning percentage.
-
Allie Zorn is ranked No. 43 among NCAA active players in career points with 283 at all levels. In Division III, she sits 25th.
- The Jumbos lost five of its top six goal scorers from last season, making up a total of 231 of the team's 384 goals. Tufts has still be able to make up the difference though.
- Only three starters returned off last year's NCAA finals team -
Allie Zorn,
Nicola Donlan and
Elsa Schutt.
- Tufts is 11-3 this season against ranked opponents.
-
Eleanor Helm has the team's top two points games this season, and has at least one point in every game.
Some Quick Notes
- The Jumbos are 16-0 this season when they score 14 or more goals in a game.
- Tufts has only been outshot once this season, falling in overtime to Amherst 14-13 back on March 7.
- The Jumbos are 2-3 when they don't get to 28 or more shots in a game, but are a perfect 15-0 when hitting that mark.
- Seven of Tufts' 12 starters this season have started all 20 games on the year.
- Tufts has scored the first goal in 15 of its 20 games this season, but are 3-2 in the games where they don't score first. The Jumbos are 14-1 when scoring first.
Panther Points
- Middlebury is make its 30th apperance in the NCAA Tournament, while advancing to the NCAA semifinals for the 25th time.
- Middlebury is in search of its fifth straight NCAA title and 12th crown in program history.
- The Panthers have won 28 straight NCAA Tournament games.
- Middlebury is first in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 4.95 goals per game this season.
- The Panthers defeated St. John Fisher 17-4 in the NCAA Second Round, followed by wins last weekend over No. 18 Rowan (21-4) and No. 14 TCNJ (19-4).
- Caroline Adams was named as the NESCAC Player of the Year after scoring 68 goals to go with 41 assists and 120 draw controls.
- Haley Hamilton has 56 goals, while Skylar Lach has netted 41 as well.
- Elizabeth Savage has stopped 49.4 percent of shots in cage for Midd, allowing 5.02 goals per game.
- Head coach Kate Livesay is in her 11th season with the Panthers, going 193-12 with Middlebury after graduating from the program back in 2003.
About Head Coach Courtney Shute
- Shute has posted a 175-53 record while at the helm of the Jumbos, bringing the program to new heights over the last eight years.
- Shute has posted a 84-31 record in NESCAC play at Tufts, helping the Jumbos to three conference crowns.
- She has led the Jumbos to five NCAA semifinals, three NCAA Tournament finals and nine NCAA Tournament apperances.
- Shute has coached 48 All-NESCAC honorees, along with seven NESCAC Players of the Year and three Rookies of the Year.
- This weekend will be a homecoming for Shute, who is from nearby Fayetteville, NY and played at Cornell University.
- Shute is a 2018 Cornell Hall of Fame inductee, and the all-time leading scorer for the Big Red.
NESCAC No Joke
- The NESCAC once again has proved the be the top NCAA Division III women's lacrosse league this year, as three of the four teams in the NCAA Final Four are from the NESCAC.
- According to MasseyRatings, six of the top seven ranked teams are NESCAC squads.
- Massey has the NESCAC's "Power Ranking" as a 14.41 as a conference, while the Centennial Conference is No. 2 with a 8.13. Liberty League is No. 3 at 5.20, and the NJAC is fourth at 2.78.
--JUMBOS--
