GENEVA, N.Y. (November 12, 2022) – Erin Duncan scored the lone goal of the match in the 16th minute to lift No. 22 Tufts University to a 1-0 victory over Denison University in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Cozzens Field on the campus of William Smith College.

It was not only the first meeting all-time between Denison and Tufts, but it was a matchup featuring two teams that were both allowing less than one goal per match entering the contest. However, the Jumbos got off to a good start by forcing Big Red goalkeeper Wynne Hague to make a save in the first minute of the match, followed by another save in the 11th minute before cashing in with the lone goal four and a half minutes later.

Denison outshot Tufts by one in both halves, but it was the Jumbos that held a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Dulcie Heyes had Denison's first shot attempt of the match in the 31st minute, but it was saved by Hayley Bernstein.

Callie Davis shot wide in the 36th minute before she had her second shot blocked in the 37th minute, and then Tufts got another block on an attempt by Amy Chiero in the 39th minute before Bernstein made her second save of the first half, again on a shot attempt by Heyes, in the 43rd minute.

Hague added two more saves in the first 21 minutes of the second half before the final three shots of the match each came from the Big Red.

For the second time in the final 33 minutes of action, Kate Dalimonte had her shot attempt sail high in the 70th minute.

Then just over three minutes later, Berstein made a save on the shot by Chiero before Denison's final gasp came on a blocked shot on the third attempt of the match by Davis in the 76th minute.

The Big Red finished their 26th season under Head Coach Gail Murphy 7-9-4 overall while winning the fourth North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament in program history and making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016. Tufts, meanwhile, which is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017, improved to 11-5-2 and will now advance to play against No. 6 nationally-ranked William Smith College in the second round of the tournament.