THE FACTS
No. 1 Tufts (21-1) 18, No. 6 Gettysburg (19-4) 13
What: NCAA Div. III women's lacrosse tournament semifinal
When: Friday, May 23
Where: Salem, Va.
THE SKINNY STORY
Tufts, ranked No. 1 in the latest IWLCA Div. III coaches' poll, outscored No. 6 Gettysburg 5-0 in the first quarter before the Bullets clawed all the way back to within one twice but could not overcome the early deficit and the Jumbos advanced to the national championship game with an 18-13 win in the second 2025 NCAA Div. III women's lacrosse semifinal.
THE LEADERS
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Lily Macatee (Street, Md./North Harford) corralled six draw controls for the Bullets to finish her career with 347 career draws and break the Centennial Conference record of 346 set by Muhlenberg's Stephanie Umbach from 2012-15.
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Sophie Smith (Great Falls, Va./Langley) led the attack with three goals. She also had a caused turnover.
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Julia Daly (McLean, Va./Langley) chipped in a goal and three assists to go with a caused turnover and ground ball.
FOR THE FOES
• Margie Carden led the Jumbos with five goals and added three ground balls.
• Allie Zorn chipped in two goals and three assists.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• Tufts jumped out to a 5-0 lead through the first 15 minutes of play. After a defensive first five-plus minutes of the game, Ella Lesperance finally found the back of the net off a pass from Allie Zorn in an unsettled situation for a 1-0 lead with 9:22 to play. Margie Carden made it 2-0 nearly a minute later before Zorn and Lesperance connected for the second time with 5:46 on the clock. An Elisa Schutt goal with 4:12 showing an Zorn free-position tally just shy of a minute later accounted for the first quarter scoring.
• Starting the second period with possession after a Jumbos yellow late in the first quarter,
Grace Battle (Lynchburg, Va./Virginia Episcopal Academy) found an opening just under the crossbar to get Gettysburg on the board just 25 seconds into the second quarter.
Michaela Kelly (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) then found
Sophie Smith to cut the deficit to 5-2 with 13:18 showing. Caroline Conaghan converted an advantage goal just over a minute later to push the Tufts lead back to four. With 8:44 to play in the period,
Julia Daly found Kelly on the doorstop and she finished to make it a 6-3 game. Maggie Carden, however, needed just 52 seconds to connect on a free position and push the lead back to four.
Emily Crane (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) lasered home a Daly pass from the top of the arc to make it 7-4 with 5:00 to play. Carden shoveled home a goal with a two-player advantage to once again make it a four-goal lead with 3:13 showing.
Sarah Scollin (Orefield, Pa./Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) and Kelly scored two minutes apart to close the deficit to 8-6 at the intermission.
• Daly picked up a loose ball right in front of the cage and put it home to cut the margin to one with 11:45 on the clock. Madeline Delaney had the Tufts answer nearly a minute later, though. Zorn then faked low and went high to make it a 10-7 game with 7:54 on the clock. Scollin found the back of the net off a solo run with 5:41 showing before Daly hit a cutting
Nina Marra (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) just 67 seconds later to make it a one-goal game and force a timeout. Carden converted a free-position tally and Emma Joyce finished a solo run in the final 2:07 of the period to push the lead to 12-9 entering the final quarter.
• Joyce opened the fourth quarter scoring just 33 seconds in to push the lead back to four. Smith scored in an advantage situation off a pass from Scollin with 10:58 remaining. Just 32 seconds later, Passarello drove on a free-position to make it a 13-11 game. Sophia Claps, however, returned the advantage to three with 9:38 on the clock. Crane once again made it a two-goal game just over two minutes later. Joyce, however, started a three-goal run over a span of 1 minute, 38 seconds to seal the victory. Smith capped her hat trick with 2:52 to play to give Gettysburg a glimmer of hope but Delaney put the game away with the final tally in the last 32 seconds.
THE INSIDE STORY
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Lily Macatee's record breaking draw control came with 9:38 remaining in the game.
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Juliette deVarenne (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) made 10 saves in goal to go with five ground balls and a caused turnover.
• Tufts will take on conference foe Middlebury – the Jumbos' lone loss of the season – for the national title on Sunday. The Panthers won the first semifinal over Colby, 13-12 in overtime.
