Women's Lacrosse

Six NESCAC Teams Reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament

The NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Sweet 16 field includes six teams from the NESCAC.
 
Amherst, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, and Williams make up 30 percent of the remaining teams competing for the title. The Mammoths face The College of New Jersey at Middlebury, while the Panthers face Rowan on the other side of the bracket at Peter Kohn Field. Trinity plays Pomona-Pitzer at Wesleyan, and the Cardinals meet the University of Chicago in the Middletown Regional. Williams travels to Tufts to take on Colorado College while the Jumbos face Gettysburg in the third round at Bello Field.
 
Amherst (13-4) trailed 9-8 with 7:36 remaining in the game but pulled out an 11-8 win with goals from Bridget Finley and Clara Sosa over the final 6:47 to earn the win. The Mammoths outscored the Ducks 5-2 in the second half, and Finley and Emily Petersen each registered a hat trick to pace Amherst. The Mammoths will play in the Sweet 16 round for the first time since 2019.
 
Middlebury (19-0) eased past St. John Fisher in the second round. The Panthers led 5-0 after the first quarter and 12-2 at the intermission en route to the win. Nine different Panthers tallied a goal. Parker Hanson paced Middlebury with four markers.
 
Trinity (13-5) trailed Franklin & Marshall after the first quarter but responded with four second-quarter goals to take a 5-3 lead at the break. The Bantams went on to outscore the Diplomats 7-4 in the second half, including five goals in the final frame. Kaeley Zito (4G, 1A) and Lily Acerra (3G, 2A) tallied five points each to lead Trinity. Alison MacDougall made a game-high 11 saves in the Bantams’ cage.
 
Tufts (15-3) scored the game’s first 12 goals to race out to a 13-1 advantage at the half to cruise to a 17-7 win over Haverford at Bello Field. Eleanor Helm tallied a goal 66 seconds into the contest, and the Jumbos never looked back. Helm finished the day with six points on two goals and four assists. Teammate Allie Zorn added five goals and an assist.
 
Wesleyan (16-3) posted its largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game with an 18-3 win over Cortland. The victory was bolstered by a pair of 6-0 runs by the Cardinals. Four different players registered a hat trick, nine players tallied at least one goal, and 12 players registered at least one point for Wesleyan. The Cardinals advance to the Sweet 16 round for the seventh consecutive season.
 
Williams (11-7) handed Grove City an 18-3 loss in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Ephs controlled the game from the start, going ahead 5-0 after the first quarter and holding an 11-1 lead at intermission. Ella Ryan led Williams with a hat trick. In the second round, the Ephs used a late defensive stand to earn an 11-10 win over host William Smith. Williams led 11-9 with 3:46 remaining. The Herons scored at the 1:01 mark to cut the deficit to one and won the ensuing draw. The Ephs’ defense held strong and did not let William Smith get a shot off in the closing seconds. Katy McCullough led Williams with three goals and an assist. The Ephs advance to the Sweet 16 round for the first time since 2014.