PURCHASE, NY (September 5, 2026) – The No. 4 ranked Tufts University women's soccer team came out of the gates hungry and stayed steady across the full 90 in a non-conference neutral site matchup against No. 5 Messiah to capture a 5-1 victory in the 2026 season-opener.
 
The Jumbos (1-0-0, 0-0-0 NESCAC) capitalized on opportunities early and limited mistakes to keep the Falcons (0-1-1, 0-0-0 C'Wealth) at bay. Senior midfielder Emily Nicholas and junior forward hounded the Messiah defense in the opening half, burying three goals combined to give Tufts a healthy two-goal lead heading into the break.
 
Tufts pressured the Falcons from the jump, as Cromett fired a low center shot towards Messiah goalkeeper Ellie Ockrin just over 90 seconds into the contest. The Jumbos possessed the ball well in the opposing half and off the first corner kick of the match, Nicholas found an opening in the lower left hand part of the goal with an assist coming from Reese Birch to give the squad an early 1-0 advantage.
 
Two more attempted shots from Maren Jones and Alyssa Ruiz, and a Tufts corner kick in the following three minutes showed the attacking mentality of the Jumbos. The effort was rewarded with another marker coming from Cromett on a strike to the upper middle section of the net. With a 2-0 deficit, the Falcons showed their resilience, drawing multiple free kick opportunities and eventually cutting the Jumbo lead in half with a goal from Alayna Williams near the 30th minute mark in the bottom left corner with a helper from Hannah Lashley.
 
Tufts quickly turned on their offensive mindset again as Waverly Sumner put a shot on goal that was saved by Ockrin just under 30 seconds after the Messiah tally and Nicholas recorded her second goal of the match close to the 34th minute with another assist coming from Birch. Messiah and Tufts traded shots towards the end of the half, but both goalies held their own and the Jumbos went into halftime with a 3-1 lead.
 
Messiah was able to begin the second half with a solid opportunity in the opening seconds, but Brittany Hoffman missed over the left hand side of the goal. Tufts maintained consistent pressure following the shot attempt, with a corner kick, a free kick, and a shot on goal from Birch. Two more corner kicks led to another Jumbo score from Maggie Rogers to give the Blue and Brown a three goal advantage.
 
Both teams put together solid chances in the final 20 minutes, but it was Tufts that found the back of the net for a fifth time with the unassisted goal coming from senior forward Hannah Batt. Gigi Edwards looked confident as the Jumbo goaltender, ending the day the four saves and playing the full 90 minutes.
 
Tufts will return home to Bello Field for the next matchup as No. 24 Colby comes to Medford to open conference play for NESCAC action next Saturday at 12 PM.