The No. 1 Tufts women’s lacrosse team stormed out to a 4-0 lead on May 25 in the NCAA Division III title game to No. 2 Middlebury College, but the Panthers would rally to earn a 10-9 victory for their fourth straight title in play at Roanoke College’s Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia. 

The Jumbos (21-2) finish the season as the national runner-up, the third NCAA finalist finish for Tufts since the 2021 season. Tufts has made the NCAA Final Four now four times, while finishing with a program-record 21 wins in 2025. 

Tufts started the final like it did in the national semifinal against Gettysburg, as the Jumbos converted on their first possession on an Allie Zorn goal to take a 1-0 lead 71 seconds into the game. 

Moments later, Tufts doubled its lead as senior Margie Carden drove into the eight-meter and finished between three Panther defenders to make it 2-0. Middlebury would win the next draw control, but junior Nicola Donlan forced a turnover, setting up a person-up goal by Ella Lesperance to make it 3-0 less than five minutes into the contest. 

The Tufts’ lead would swell up to four goals at the 8:43 mark of the first quarter, as Caroline Conaghan tallied late in the possession clock to cap the four-goal run. The Panthers got on the board just 43 seconds later on a Maggie Coughlin goal, followed quickly by a Hope Shue score to cut the Jumbos’ lead to two at 4-2. 

Kelcey Dion brought the Panthers back to within one with just over a minute to play on a free position shot, but a tying effort late for the Panthers was denied by senior goalkeeper Pascale de Buren to help the Jumbos keep their one-goal edge heading to the second quarter. 

Middlebury evened the score at four early in the second frame, but Carden answered with a beautiful goal as she spun off a defender and netted her second of the day to make it 5-4. Junior Elsa Schutt helped the Jumbos push their lead back up to two as she scooped up a rebound off a Ella Lesperance shot and scored close in. 

The Panthers answered the two-goal spurt with one of their own to make it 6-6, but a goal by sophomore Schyler Lloyd made it 7-6 Jumbos going into the break. The high-scoring first half would give way to a defensive struggle in the third frame, as the only score of the frame came by Middlebury to make it 7-7 going to the fourth. 

Middlebury took their first lead of the game at 10:21, but graduate student Emma Joyce scored her first of the game on a driving shot to deadlock the game at eight with nine minutes left. 

Both teams locked in on their next defensive possessions, but Shue would score back-to-back goals including an unassisted goal with two minutes to play to make it 10-8. 

The Jumbos picked up possession after a forced turnover by Genna Gibbons with 85 seconds to play, but an offensive foul was called to give the ball back to Middlebury. Tufts forced another turnover, and Conaghan netted an eight-meter shot with 11 seconds to play to give the Jumbos some late hope. 

On the ensuing draw, Middlebury was able to disrupt the possession long enough for the remaining 11 seconds to click off the clock to give the Panthers their fourth straight national title. 

Carden finished with two goals on four shots, ending her historic career with the Jumbos with a program-record 268 goals. Carden broke her own school record for goals in a season with her 71st on the season, as she also netted years of 69 in 2022 and 2023. 

Joyce tallied a goal and an assist, while Conaghan netted both of her shots on goal. Schutt had a goal and two ground balls for Tufts, and Gibbons had two caused turnovers, a grounder and eight draw controls. Tufts got fantastic goalkeeper play by de Buren, who made 12 stops in goal, including eight in the first half. 

Middlebury held a slight 32-27 edge in shots for the game, while the Jumbos posted a 16-13 advantage in shots on goal. The Jumbos also posed a 14-8 edge in draw controls for the game, as Gibbons finished with a school record of 158 draw controls on the year. 

Shue posted a game-high four goals for the Panthers, as she was named to as the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. The Jumbos saw Gibbons, de Buren, and Carden also make the NCAA All-Tournament Team.