The Jumbos win the NCAA Division III championship for the first time since 2012 with victory over Johns Hopkins
They’re number one! The national champion Tufts field hockey team celebrates after the win. Photo: John Mrakovcich
Senior Hannah Biccard scored the game-winning goal one minute into overtime as the Tufts field hockey team won the 2025 NCAA Division III championship with a 2-1 victory over Johns Hopkins University at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut on Nov. 23.
The national championship is the second for head coach Tina Mattera and the Tufts program; the first came in 2012. The Jumbos were playing in the NCAA final for the sixth time, and the win was especially worth savoring after losing in three prior championship games.
With regulation ending in a 1-1 tie, the Blue Jays began the seven-on-seven overtime with possession. A strong defensive play by Tufts senior Gabby Sousa forced a Hopkins foul and the Jumbos took over.
At the other end, first-year Eleanor Helm was fouled just outside the JHU circle and sent the restart to senior Camille Clarke. She got past a defender into the top of the circle, and then with another Blue Jay defending her closely she hit a back-handed shot that Biccard reached up to deflect in for the decisive goal.
The assist by Clarke was the first point of her four-year career with the Jumbos. Biccard’s goal was her team-high 17th, the most by a Tufts player since 2010.
The Jumbos finished their season at 19-3, tying the school record for victories. Johns Hopkins completed their year as the national runner-up with a 22-2 mark.
Putting Tufts in the championship trophy, the Jumbos celebrate their big win. Photo: John Mrakovcich
Both teams had stretches of strong possession, starting with Tufts in the first quarter. Helm had a pair of great chances, one that was saved by JHU’s Aubrey Kilgore and another that just missed high, before she scored the game’s first goal.
Junior Lilly Ragusa intercepted a Blue Jay pass and got it up to Helm just over the 23-meter line. She brought it in through the left curve of the circle and slammed a shot into the far side of the goal for her 13th of the season and a 1-0 Tufts lead with 4:54 on the first-quarter clock.
Hopkins answered less than two minutes later. On a penalty corner attempt, a shot by graduate student Jenna Halpin was deflected by first-year Ava Zimmerman in the middle of the goal area. Tufts senior goalie Lydia Eastman partially blocked it, but the ball bounced to junior Eliza Vander on the goal line, and she knocked it in to tie the score at 1-1 with 3:03 to go in the first.
JHU had the better of the play in the second period, but Eastburn made two saves to keep the game tied. The Jumbos’ best chance came when a two-on-one developed with Biccard and Helm, but Halpin defended the play nicely without a shot being attempted.
The Blue Jays had the momentum in the third quarter as well, earning four corners. Eastburn made her best save of the game on an attempt by sophomore Kaitlin Coward during a corner, flashing out her right pad to make the save.
Into the fourth quarter, Blue Jay senior Megan Chang flipped a shot just wide to the right of the goal early on. Tufts earned a corner with four seconds left in the final quarter, but fouled during the insert and missed the opportunity to end the game.
Shots were even at 8-8 for the game, with six on goal for the Jumbos and five on target by the Blue Jays. JHU had an 8-2 advantage in corners. Both Eastburn and Kilgore made four saves.
The NCAA field hockey championship is the 16th won by Tufts teams, all since 2010.
In other NCAA news for the Jumbos, the men’s and women’s soccer teams both advanced to the Final Four by winning twice this past weekend. The teams will be together in Salem, Virginia for the national semifinals, where the women will face Emory University on December 4 and the men will play St. Olaf College on December 5. Wins would put the Jumbos into the national championship games on December 6 and 7, respectively.
The men’s and women’s cross-country teams produced the best combined performances in program history at the NCAA Championship races on November 22. The men placed seventh (best since 2012) and the women finished 11th (best since 2021). Liz Donahue, Harris Gulbransen and Cullen McCaleb achieved individual All-American honors.
The women’s volleyball team hosted an NCAA Regional at Cousens Gymnasium last week and the Jumbos advanced to the Regional final. They battled valiantly against East Texas Baptist University, the No. 1 team in the country, before falling in four sets.
