Courtesy Tufts Sports Information

MEDFORD, Mass. - Senior co-captain Ileana Casellas-Katz (Denmark, Maine), who recently broke Tufts' single-season scoring record, added three more goals and an assist to her total in a 6-0 Jumbo victory against New England College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at Bello Field.

Tufts (13-4), which tied a school record for wins in a season, will travel to Maryland to play Salisbury University in the NCAA second round on Saturday at 11:00 am. New England College's season ends with a 14-7 record.

The visiting Pilgrims put some early pressure on the Jumbos. First-year Marisa Ayotte (Feeding Hills, Mass.) had the game's first shot, which was saved by Tufts first-year Katie Hyder (Winston-Salem, N.C.). Hyder also stopped shots by Kate Carnaroli (Bellingham, Mass.) and Amanda Lester (Columbia, Conn.) early on. The three saves were all that Hyder had to make in the game.

Tufts would dominate the rest of the first half. They went on to score five goals, becoming just the ninth team in the 27-year history of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey tournament to score five or more goals in a half. Casellas-Katz got the Jumbos rolling with goals just 2:21 apart.

She deflected a shot by Brittany Holiday (Wellesley, Mass.) in the 13th minute and then lifted her own rebound into the goal at 14:22. Five minutes later, she got the assist on the first collegiate goal scored by first-year Melissa Burke (Walpole, Mass.) and Tufts led 3-0.

The Jumbos added two more goals in the final 90 seconds of the first half. Junior Marlee Kutcher (Chevy Chase, Md.) scored in the aftermath of a penalty corner opportunity with 1:29 on the clock. Casellas-Katz then completed her hat trick with 28 seconds remaining. The goal was her 18th of the season and gave her 41 points in 17 games. She became just the seventh Jumbo in team history to score three or more goals in a game.

The pace slowed down in the second half, with Tufts earning a 7-2 advantage in shots after posting a 19-4 margin in the first 35 minutes.

Tufts sophomore Amanda Russo (Garden City, N.Y.) added her sixth goal of the season half-way into the second period for the final Tufts goal. Six goals are the most scored by the team this season.

Sophomore Mary Roux (Auburn, Mass.) was busy in the Pilgrim cage. She finished with 16 saves, including 13 in the first half. Lester, who scored 36 goals for NEC this fall, led them with two shots against Tufts. Jamie Johnson (Lynnfield, Mass.) had a defensive save.

The victory is the first in NCAA Tournament play for Tufts. They had lost in the first round of two previous appearances in 1995 and 1998.

The Pilgrims, who earned their ninth berth overall and sixth in a row, dropped to 2-9 overall in NCAA play.