Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/27/24
From Press Release
Junior attack Margie Carden (Villa Maria Academy) broke the Tufts University women’s lacrosse all-time goals record Saturday afternoon, as she scored the 193rd goal of her career in the second quarter to help the No. 3 seed Jumbos to a 15-10 win over visiting and No. 6 seed Trinity College in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) quarterfinals on Bello Field.
The accomplishment for the star attack came with 3:30 to play in the first half, as she took a nifty pass from sophomore Allie Zorn and made two shot fakes before finishing for her fifth of the day and 193rd goal of her career. Carden, a first-team IWLCA All-American last year who helped Villa Maria win the PIAA 2A championship in 1998, passed former Jumbo great Emily Games (Radnor), who had held the record since graduating in 2021 with 192.
Prior to the record breaking moment for Carden, the Jumbos had been dominating the contest as Tufts blanked Trinity in the first quarter with five unanswered goals including two apiece from Carden and attack partner Ella Lesperance. In the frame, Tufts forced seven turnovers by Trinity (8-8) while also posting four of the five draw controls in the frame.
The momentum continued into the second quarter for Tufts, outscoring its visitors 7-2 in the period. During the scoring run, Lesperance scored three goals in a 1:35 stretch from 7:51 to 6:16 to put the running clock in motion at 11-1. Carden’s record goal was next at 3:30 before Caroline Lampert stopped the 6-0 run by Tufts to make it 12-2 at the break.
Emma Joyce and Sophia Claps scored early on in the third quarter to add to the Jumbos lead, and a 8-1 run over the final 21 minutes by Trinity made the game look closer than it was.
Lesperance finished with eight points in the game, scoring five times to go with three assists. The eight points tied a career-high for the junior, who also registered eight points against Trinity in the regular season while tallying eight points against Bates College on April 10.
Tufts will now travel to Middlebury, VT next weekend for the NESCAC semifinals, taking on No. 2 seed Wesleyan Uniersity Saturday, May 4 at Middlebury College. Middlebury will host Colby College in the other semifinal.
