GENEVA, N.Y. – The No. 7 ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team saw their season come to an end on Saturday with a 11-8 loss to No. 5 Tufts in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament in a neutral site game played at William Smith College. Wesleyan (15-4) sees their season come to an end in the Third Round (or later) of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season. The Jumbos (16-4) advance to the NCAA Quarterfinal round where they will face William Smith on Sunday.
 
Much like their meeting in the semifinal round of the NESCAC Tournament, Wesleyan's offense couldn't solve a stingy Tufts defense led by goalkeeper Courtney Kaufman. After scoring a pair of goals just 2:47 minutes apart to tie the score at 2-2 early in the first quarter, the Cardinals were held scoreless until the second half.
 
With the Cardinal offense sputtering, the Jumbos took full advantage and rattled off four unanswered goals in the second quarter to build a 6-2 halftime lead. That four-goal deficit proved too much to overcome as the Cardinals hung in all throughout the second half but couldn't break through for a scoring run as the Tufts lead was only whittled down to a three-goal margin for the remainder of play.
 
After an entire quarter without scoring, Kiara Tangney '25 broke through for a goal just 36 seconds into the third quarter. Wesleyan won the ensuing draw and had two straight offensive possessions end without a goal before Emma Joyce scored on a free position to make it 7-3 Jumbos.
 
Kate Balicki '23 answered the Joyce goal just 1:01 later and Wesleyan again had multiple chances to cut the deficit down to two, but Laura Baine '24 was denied by Kaufman, as was Chessy Greenawld '23 with the Jumbos playing a player down due to a Becca Gable yellow card.
 
The two sides traded goals for the remainder of the third and fourth quarters, but it was too little too late as Kaufman's four saves in the third quarter alone was enough to hold off a Wesleyan rally bid.
 
Shots (25-24 Wesleyan), turnovers (17 Tufts, 15 Wesleyan), ground balls (15-15), and free position shot (7-7) totals showed how close the two sides are. The Cardinals held a 14-9 edge in draw controls but Kaufman's seven saves trumped Wesleyan's four combined stops between Abby Wolk '22 and Izzy Weintraub '26 in net.
 
Gil Horst '23 and Balicki tied for the team-lead with three points as the pair each finished with two goals and one assist. Bridget Horst '26 was all over the field with two goals (fourth multi-goal game of the season), two caused turnovers and six draw controls. Bridget's team-leading 96 draw controls in 19 games this season are a new single-season team record.
 
Tangney finished her sophomore season on a 12-game goal scoring streak while she added team-highs in ground balls (four) and caused turnovers (three).
 
Tufts was led by Margie Carden (three goals, one assist) while four others finished with multi-point games.