Wellesley Lacrosse Suffers 26-5 Setback Against No. 10 Tufts

MEDFORD, Mass. -- Wellesley College lacrosse fell 26-5 in non-conference competition against No. 10 Tufts University on Wednesday afternoon at Bello Field. The Blue drop to 0-3 on their season, while the Jumbos remain undefeated at 3-0.

Junior Annie Sullivan (Barrington, R.I.) paced Tufts with four goals and added a pair of ground balls. First year Catherine Lawliss (Portland, Ore.), senior Caroline Nowak (Glenview, Ill.), and junior Dakota Adamec (Katonah, N.Y) each recorded a hat trick in the win. Sophomores Emily Games (Wayne, Pa.), Lily Baldwin (Cincinnati, Ohio), first year Claire Wright (Denver, Colo.) and senior Tori Rudnicki (Lutherville, Md.) all added a pair of goals to secure the 26-5 victory over the Blue.

Wellesley was led by junior Dacia Persky (Las Vegas, Nev.) with three goals. Juniors Lena Engbretson (Beaverton, Ore.) and Ellie Chalphin (Philadelphia, Pa.) rounded out scoring for the Blue with a goal each. Junior Olivia Strobl (Stafford, Va.) added an assist and junior Mariana Hernandez (Orlando, Fla.) recorded a game-high four ground balls.

Tufts scored the first six goals of the game to hold a 6-0 advantage before Persky found the back of the net for the Blue at 26:14 to cut the deficit 6-1. Tufts countered with two goals by Sullivan and Nowak at 23:59 and 23:16 to extend their lead to 8-1. Persky and Engbretson scored back-to-back free position goals to cut the Jumbos lead to 8-3. Persky notched her last of the game for Wellesley at 12:42, as Tufts went on to score the next eight goals to take an 18-4 lead heading into the halftime break.

Tufts opened the second half at 28:50 with a goal from Rudnicki. Wright finished a 14 goal run for the Jumbos at 15:41, scoring her first of the game to extend 24-4. Chalphin scored the lone goal of the second half for Wellesley at 11:08, but Tufts would come back to score two more goals in the final five minutes to earn the 26-5 win. Tufts held the advantage in shots, 50-12, ground balls, 16-13, and draw controls, 26-7.

Wellesley junior goalkeeper Chloe Tucker (San Ramon, Calif.) recorded 12 saves in the setback and is now 0-3 on the season. Tufts goalkeepers junior Audrey Evers (San Francisco, Calif.) and sophomore Kelly Melin (Hinsdale, Ill.) split the time in the cage, both recording three saves each. Evers earned the win and improves to 3-0 on her season.

Both teams will play again on Saturday March 17. Wellesley will travel to Stevens with the draw set for 3:30 PM and Tufts will travel to Colby for a 1:00 PM start time.