HARTFORD, CT – Sixth-ranked Tufts scored 66 seconds into overtime to slip past second-ranked Johns Hopkins, 2-1, in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship game at Trinity (CT) College Sunday afternoon.  The win snaps the Blue Jays' 21-game winning streak and JHU ends the season at 22-2.  The Jumbos grab their second national championship and finish 19-3.

With the reduced number of players on the field in overtime, the Jumbos turned away a push from the Blue Jays to open the extra period and quickly transitioned the other way.  After working down the wing, the Jumbos pushed the ball to the middle, where Camille Clarke was able to send a reverse hit high towards the goal.  Just before Blue Jay goalie Aubrey Kilgore could punch Clarke's offering away, Hannah Biccard was able to get a stick up and deflect it home for the game-winner.

Biccard's goal brought an end to a game that saw the Jumbos accumulate several dangerous opportunities early with Johns Hopkins controlling much of the middle of the game.

Tufts would fire off six of its eight shots in the game in the opening quarter and broke through at the 10:09 mark when Eleanor Helm's reverse found the back of the cage.  Kilgore would register three first-quarter saves, including two in quick succession before the Helm goal, and another late after the Blue Jays had pulled even.  A Cameron Thiesing defensive save during the early flurry helped keep the Jumbos scoreless at the time.

It took the Blue Jays less than two minutes to pull even as they would capitalize on their first corner off the game.  Playing off the insert of Sophia Bullione, the Blue Jays got a strong shot from the top from Jenna Halpin that was saved, but Ava Zimmerman was able to poke the rebound towards the goal line, where it was tipped home by Eliza Vander.

After allowing the six first-quarter shots, the Blue Jay defense settled in and the Jumbos would go shotless in the second and third quarters combined and managed just one shot in the fourth quarter.

At the other end, the Blue Jays would collect five shots in the middle periods, but couldn't solve Tufts goalie Lydia Eastburn, who kicked away a pair of Hopkins offerings in the second quarter and added a big kick save off a Kaitlin Coward shot off a corner in the third.

Johns Hopkins had two golden chances to grab a one-goal lead late in the final period, but a Megan Chang backhander from the wing narrowly missed the far post and she later redirected a cross just wide with just over two minutes remaining in regulation.

Tufts would draw a corner opportunity with less than five seconds remaining in regulation and had every field player on the circle, but the insert bounced at the last moment and ticked off the leg of a Jumbo player to end regulation.

Two days after being extended deep into the second overtime, the Blue Jays saw their dreams of a national championship end just 66 seconds into the extra session when Biccard's tip ended things.

The shots were even at eight apiece and both teams got four saves on the day.  Johns Hopkins did earn eight corners to just two for Tufts, but the Jumbo defense did a good job of limiting the Blue Jays' opportunities on those after JHU cashed in on its first of the game.

A trio of Johns Hopkins players – Chang, Sophia Albano and Caeli Robinson – were named to the All-Tournament Team for their efforts this weekend.

The runner-up finish is the fourth in five years for Johns Hopkins, which previously advanced to the national championship game in 2021, 2022 and 2023.  The run to championship weekend is the sixth for the Blue Jays under head coach Jane Wells (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025).

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