MEDFORD, Mass. – Goalie Molly Laliberty and the Tufts defense shut down Wesleyan on Saturday to lead the Jumbos to their first NESCAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship with a 14-3 win over the Cardinals at Bello Field.
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Laliberty saved 13 of Wesleyan's 16 shots on goal, including nine out of 10 shots in the second half. She also collected three ground balls and caused a turnover. Tufts defender Madison Lehan finished with two caused turnovers.
The Jumbos (6-0) receive the NESCAC's automatic qualifying berth into the NCAA Tournament. Tufts was led offensively by Catherine Lawliss with four goals and an assist. Anna Clarke added three goals and Ananda Kao recorded two goals and an assist.
Wesleyan, which was playing in its first conference championship game, received goals from Laura Baine, Gil Horst, and Emma Wilson. Indigo Pellegrini de Paur caused three turnovers, won four draws and scooped up four ground balls. The Cardinals fall to 3-3 on the season.
Possession in the game was even as the visitors dominated draw controls. The Cardinals won 12 out of the 18 draws including four by Horst. However, Wesleyan couldn't convert on offense as Tufts often forced the Cardinals late in the shot clock and Laliberty was there when they did get a shot attempt off.
The teams traded goals at the start with Kathryn Delaney scoring for the Jumbos and Horst for Wesleyan. Lawliss netted two out of three straight goals by the Jumbos for a 4-1 lead at 15:46 of the first half. Emma Wilson brought the Cardinals within two, 4-2, at the 13-minute mark.
From there, Tufts' defense kept Wesleyan off the scoreboard for the next 40 minutes of action. The Jumbos scored nine times during the Cardinal drought, with Lawliss starting the run for the Jumbos at 10:57 of the first period and also ending it at 4:13 of the second frame. Clarke and Kao also scored twice during that stretch for Tufts, which grew its lead to a 13-2 advantage.
Wesleyan's Baine broke up Tufts' second-half shutout with a free-position goal at 2:33 of the second period.
The Jumbos finished with a 29-20 edge in shots and 20-16 in ground balls. Tufts converted five of its eight free-position opportunities.
Clarke and Games also caused two turnovers for Tufts, while Games and Colette Smith won three ground balls apiece. Clarke had three draw control wins. Horst added two ground balls and two caused turnovers to her game for Wesleyan. Rylee White won three draws and caused a pair of Jumbo mistakes. Abby Wolk and Corin Grady split netminding duties for the Cardinals with each making four saves.
