After two weeks featuring many challenging NESCAC matchups, Tufts ice hockey went on the road to play the North Country Tournament in Canton, N.Y. Tufts won the tournament, winning both games by a solid margin.
The Tufts ice hockey team started their season with split results, showcasing both their strengths, especially their returning offense, and some of the areas for improvement that the team is hoping to clean up this season.
In the quarterfinals of the NESCAC tournament on Saturday, men’s soccer lost to Bowdoin College on penalty kicks after fighting to come back from a Bowdoin goal in the first half. Regulation and overtime finished in a 1–1 tie, with Bowdoin advancing 4–3 on penalty kicks.
With 37 teams to compete against, women’s cross-country had stiff competition at the Connecticut College Invitational this Saturday. Still, the Jumbos held their own, placing seventh out of 37 teams in the Blue race, where the teams’ top runners participated. This was an incredibly successful race for the Jumbos, and many of the teams’ top seven runners finished with new personal best times. The Jumbos finished sixth out of 37 teams in the White race. MIT won the Blue race, and Williams won the White race. Tufts scored 217 points in the Blue race and 124 points in the White race.
On Saturday, men’s cross-country traveled to Bethlehem, Pa. to compete in the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University. The Paul Short Run is a huge cross-country meet featuring 10 different collegiate races.
At the Cardinal Invitational this weekend, the Jumbos placed third out of 10 teams. The Jumbos scored 69 points, putting them behind Amherst College’s Mammoths, who scored 46 points, and Vassar College’s Brewers, who scored 68 points. The Wesleyan University Cardinals came in fourth place with 77 points.
Tufts men’s soccer started NESCAC play with a 1–0 win against Williams College last weekend. The teams battled for nearly 87 minutes without a goal, but the scoreless streak was eventually broken by sophomore forward Xavier Canfin. While the Jumbos had many good shots on goal throughout the game, Canfin’s shot, assisted by graduate student midfielder Liam Gerkin and junior midfielder James Gunn, was the only one that found the back of the net.
Tufts women’s lacrosse has been a strong program in Division III for years. Senior midfielder Emma Joyce has contributed to the team’s impressive record in her four years at Tufts. In the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Tufts won the NESCAC championship and was runner-up in the NCAA championship. Additionally, in the 2023 season, Tufts was runner-up in the NESCAC and made it to the NCAA quarterfinals. Joyce explained that being part of a team that’s been so successful has made for an exciting four years.
It was a big weekend for NESCAC women’s lacrosse with a game between the top two teams in the conference. The Tufts women’s lacrosse team, then ranked No. 4, played No. 1 Middlebury at home on Saturday. Though the Jumbos lost 14–13, the tight game showed just how competitive they will be for NESCAC and NCAA championships. Beyond the chance to compete against the best-ranked team in the division, this was an especially exciting game for the Jumbos because it was Senior Day.
The No. 4 Tufts women’s lacrosse team broke their undefeated streak this season with a 15–17 loss to No. 7 Wesleyan University on Saturday. The Jumbos and the Cardinals held the score even throughout the first half, with no team ever gaining more than a two-goal advantage. In the third quarter, Tufts pulled away, leading 15–11 going into the fourth quarter. But during the fourth quarter, Wesleyan was able to make up their four-goal deficit, coming back to beat Tufts by two.
