Courtesy Tufts Sports Information

Box Score

MEDFORD, Mass. - The talented Colby College attack was in fine form at the right time on Sunday, leading the Mules to a 22-14 victory over Tufts University in the first round of the 2008 NESCAC Women's Lacrosse Championship at Bello Field Sunday afternoon.

The Mules, seeded fifth in NESCACs, received four goals and five assists from junior Becky Julian (South Windsor, Conn.), six goals by sophomore Amy Campbell (North Andover, Mass.), four goals with an assist from junior Heather Nickerson (Falmouth, Mass.) and a goal with four assists from junior Kate Sheridan (Hingham, Mass.). The Mules are now 10-5 overall and will play top seed Middlebury College in the semifinal round of the next Saturday at 12:00 p.m.

Tufts dropped to 10-5 and likely saw their season end on Sunday. Sophomore Jenna Abelli (Framingham, Mass.) had four goals to lead the Jumbos, who also got three tallies apiece from first-year Amanda Roberts (Wenham, Mass.) and senior Sarah Williams (Bethesda, Md.).

In a game that would see 36 goals scored, including 22 in the first half, Tufts had the first three less than three minutes into the game for an early lead. The Mules scored the next six, two by Nickerson, to go up 6-3 with 19 minutes remaining until halftime. The momentum swung back to Tufts, as they scored four of the next five to tie it at 7-7. Roberts and Willams both scored twice during the Jumbo run. However, Colby would establish control by out-scoring Tufts 6-2 in the final 10 minutes of the half to lead 13-9 at the break. Campbell and Julian both had two goals during the stretch.

Colby was then able to keep the momentum in the second half, scoring the first two goals and four of the first five to lead 17-10 on Julian's free-position goal at 23:35. Tufts got within six (17-11) on Abelli's goal at 21:20, but the Mules scored the next three to lead 20-11 with 13:13 to go. They cruised from there, earning revenge on a regular-season loss to Tufts in a game that they had a late lead.

The Mules finished with a 45-32 advantage in shots and a 23-15 edge in draw controls on Sunday. First-year Sarah Warnke (Lakeville, Conn.) made nine saves in the Colby goal for the win. Despite giving up 22 goals, Tufts first-year Sara Bloom (Summit, N.J.) was solid with 15 saves.