MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Goals from first-years Teddy Tolbert '28 and Brooke Miner '28 just 91 seconds apart early in the second quarter proved enough in the end for No. 14 ranked Wesleyan field hockey as the Cardinals landed a 2-1 come-from-behind win at home over No. 7 Tufts on Saturday afternoon. Wesleyan (6-2, 2-2 NESCAC) lands their second win over a Top 10 ranked NESCAC opponent in as many weeks while the Jumbos (6-2, 3-2 NESCAC) see their five-game win streak end.
 
Tufts knocked in the opening goal 7:17 into play as Hannah Biccard possessed on the goal line inside the circle before centering to Andrea DelGiudice who corralled the pass and swept in a goal from in close to make it 1-0.
 
Wesleyan landed their first shot of the game late in the first quarter, as Isabelle Benoit '26 saw her attempt thwarted by Lydia Eastburn who came charging far off her line to make the save, but that spark on attack carried over into the second quarter.
 
Following a Jumbo foul near the far corner, Miner quickly restarted play and carried into the circle before hitting a powerful centering feed for Tolbert at the far post. Tolbert beat her defender to the spot and Eastburn didn't come off her line to challenge the hard-hit pass and it was a tie game at 1-1 just 46 seconds into the second.
 
The pressure prolonged for Wesleyan who generated a corner 1:26 later and after the insert, the ball came to Imani Ochieng '25 who swept in a shot that hit off foot of a Jumbo player right in front of cage. The referee blew her whistle and pointed to the spot, indicating a penalty stroke for the denial of what would have been an Ochieng goal. Stepping to the penalty spot was the first-year Miner who made no mistake, slotting in her first career goal inside the left post to give Wesleyan a 2-1 lead.
 
Wesleyan's defense did the rest as the remaining 42+ minutes of play saw neither team score as all nine of the Jumbo shot attempts were either denied by Audrey Pace '26 who finished the contest with five saves or missed the target. The best chance in the remainder of play for Tufts came when Kylie Rosenquest was led with a pass that had her in one-on-one against Pace late in the third quarter. Rosenquest lined up her shot, which was lifted off the turf, but Pace was in a great position as the shot hit her chest padding and was cleared away.
 
Tolbert's goal was her third of the season while Miner registered an assist on the Tolbert marker as well as the game-winning goal on the penalty stroke. This marks the second straight season Wesleyan has defeated Tufts, as the Cardinals took down the Jumbos 2-1 in overtime in Medford last season. The Cardinals have won three of the past five meetings against Tufts dating back to 2019.
 
The Cardinals finish up their four-game home stand with a Wednesday night non-conference showdown against Union at 6 PM from Hicks Field.