It’s no surprise that head coach Tina Mattera chose “tenacious” as the word to describe senior co-captain Andrea DelGiudice. If you’ve ever attended a Tufts field hockey game, you’ve probably witnessed this tenacity on show through the finesse and speed of DelGiudice. Among the chaos of midfield battles, her blue and white No. 7 jersey often glides through with composure, as her deft touch and agility allow her to unlock defenses. Without the ball, DelGiudice often diffuses opposition attacks, highlighting her defensive importance and versatility. From surprising herself by making her varsity team as a freshman in high school to anchoring the Tufts midfield, DelGiudice’s field hockey journey has been a testament to hard work and self-confidence.
DelGiudice recalls falling in love with the sport before her senior year at St. Paul’s School. One of the players DelGiudice looked up to in high school was teammate Josie Varney, who went on to play for Duke University.
“I was going to be the captain and thought I should try to play a lot and get as good as I could. I had no intention of playing in college until I realized October of my senior year that I didn’t want all of my hard work to go to waste and I wasn’t ready to stop playing,” DelGiudice wrote in an email to the Daily.
Coming into Tufts, DelGiudice was nervous about keeping up with the skill level of her teammates, many of whom, unlike her, had played club-level field hockey in high school. Despite having strong athletic ability, there were aspects of her game that needed improvement.
“As a freshman she needed to work to improve her stick skills and knowledge of the game,” Mattera wrote in an email to the Daily. With time, DelGiudice’s game matured as she demonstrated outstanding growth between her sophomore and junior year.
“Her game has grown leaps and bounds. She has really put the time and effort in to making herself a better player and I was so impressed with the improvement she made between sophomore and junior years. She is now a standout player in the NESCAC and Division III,” Mattera wrote.
Looking back on her career so far, DelGiudice reflected on her growth as a player and person.
“I’ve become much more confident as a player just from having 4 years of experience under my belt. The older you get, things start to click and you start to understand our style of play,” she wrote. “As a person, the responsibilities of being captain the past year have made me mature a lot.”
DelGiudice further highlighted how her teammates and coaches have helped her develop as a player.
“I pick up on other players’ skills and try and incorporate them into my own game. I’ve learned a lot from people in the years above me, but I also still learn from people in my own grade and even younger players,” she wrote. “Everyone I’ve played with here at Tufts has inspired me in one way or another.”
Having started all 39 games during her junior and senior seasons, DelGiudice’s presence on the field has been notable. This season alone, DelGiudice has racked up 10 goals and two assists for 22 points, including five game-winners. This was almost double her record in 2022, when she put up four goals and four assists for 12 points. This season, DelGiudice led the team in goals and points, but most impressively, clocked 1,115 minutes for the Jumbos, more than any other outfield player. The Jumbos held a formidable 7–1 home record, including a nail-biting 2–1 overtime victory against Amherst College in which DelGiudice scored the game-winner. Another game-winner came on the road against Bowdoin College. Tufts eventually fell to Amherst in a 3–2 thriller in the NESCAC tournament, a game in which DelGuidice scored once again.
In sports, No. 7 is usually saved for a player with both incredible skill and leadership. It’s a number that opponents dread facing and teammates seek for inspiration. DelGiudice has embodied this spirit from her first moments on the team. Another one of her idols is current University of North Carolina head coach Erin Matson, who won four national titles for the Tar Heels and is considered one of the greatest college athletes ever. At 23, Matson became the youngest Division I head coach to win a national championship. Like Matson, whose time with her team extended beyond her undergraduate years, DelGiudice will continue to anchor Tufts’ midfield as she begins her data science master’s program at Tufts.
When asked for advice for her star defensive midfielder going forward, Mattera encouraged DelGiudice to keep pushing herself to see how much better she can get. There’s no doubt her presence next season will be critical to the Jumbos’ success, and her mentorship of younger players will lay the foundation for a cohesive squad in the future.
