Tufts women’s lacrosse returned to Bello Field on Saturday, coming off their most difficult result of the season — a scrappy 10–8 win on the road at Williams on April 2 — for a matchup with Wesleyan, a team that had been their nemesis in the previous two seasons. When the final whistle blew, No. 2 Tufts had avenged the demon, blowing out No. 6 Wesleyan 15–4. The Jumbos handed the Cardinals their first double-digit loss since the 2022 NESCAC tournament. This victory held extra meaning for the Jumbos, who were playing “Scooter’s Game” in honor of their late teammate Madie Nicpon, whose number they wear on the shoulders of their jerseys.
The much-anticipated matchup started off very evenly. After a turnover on the first Jumbo possession, the Cardinals quickly scored, thanks to an incisive cut from their first-team All-American midfielder Kiara Tangney. The Jumbos responded a minute later when junior attacker Allie Zorn scored her 29th goal of the season on a free-position chance, which pushed her past the century mark for career goals. The two teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the quarter. A goal a few minutes later from senior midfielder Ella Lesperance gave the Jumbos a lead before Tangney’s second goal tied the game minutes later. Finally, with four minutes left in the quarter, senior midfielder Caroline Conaghan gave the Jumbos a 3–2 lead, one they would not relinquish.
The second quarter belonged almost exclusively to the Jumbos, who controlled every draw of the quarter as part of a 7–1 run that turned the tight game into a Tufts blowout. In the quarter, Conaghan recorded her second goal of the day; senior attacker Margie Carden recorded her first of the day and 26th of the season; and Zorn grabbed two women-up goals to complete her first-half hat trick and send the Jumbos to the halftime break with an 8–3 lead, after senior goalie Pascale de Buren committed an own goal on a bizarre play toward the end of the quarter.
In the second half, the Jumbos showed more of the same, quickly putting the game away. They continued to be unstoppable at the draw circle, at one point keeping the Cardinals from winning a draw control for more than 30 minutes of game time. Additionally, they implemented to great effect a 10-women ride for the first time all season. Not having any film of head coach Courtney Shute’s new defense before the game, the Cardinals panicked and struggled on clear attempts, failing seven of their 22 tries while committing 19 turnovers. This increased the frustration felt on the Cardinal sideline as discipline became an issue down the stretch, with the Cardinals being called for 33 fouls to the Jumbos’ eight, with five different Cardinals being carded and with the Jumbos scoring on three of their four women up opportunities. In the midst of their dominance in the gritty part of the game, the Jumbos hit the Cardinals with another 7–1 run to end the game, as the Cardinals were only able to manage five total shots in the second half, while the Jumbos had 15. Zorn led the Jumbos’ scoring with four goals; four teammates (Lesperance, Conaghan, graduate student midfielder Emma Joyce and junior midfielder Elsa Schutt) finished with two apiece.
The Jumbos’ success can be directly correlated with their dominance at the draw circle, winning 17 of 22 draws on the day, with graduate student midfielder Madeline Delaney recording eight draw controls and senior midfielder Genna Gibbons adding five more to bring her team-leading total to 73.
Conaghan explained the draw unit’s dominance from the center circle.
“They just focus on each individual rep at a time,” Conaghan said. “They don’t get ahead of themselves, they don’t think about past reps, they only focus on … getting their body to the ball, not on the other team.”
Conaghan received the honor of wearing the retired No. 2 jersey in honor of Nicpon for Scooter’s Game.
“It’s a huge honor. She was such a special person, the best teammate you’ll ever have,” Conaghan said. “Our goal going into today was to channel her energy, her joy and her passion for the game, and that’s exactly what we did.”
