College notes: Three Central Mass. stars help lift Tufts women's soccer to Division 3 Final Four
Tufts sophomore Elsi Aires of Westborough scored her sixth goal of the NCAA Division 3 women’s soccer tournament in the 82nd minute of Sunday night’s game against Rochester, and propelled the Jumbos to a 1-0 win and an appearance in the national semifinals.
The victory was the latest in a tremendous postseason run for Tufts, which was one of the last teams to make the NCAA field as an at-large selection.
The Jumbos (11-5-4) also made the NCAA Final Four in 2000 and 2005.
Aires, who earned All-NESCAC first-team honors, leads her team in scoring (14-4-32). She is one of three Central Mass. stars contributing to Tufts’ success.
Senior Erin Duncan of Shrewsbury and Holy Name is a starting forward, and sophomore midfielder Caroline Kelly of Southborough and Algonquin Regional has four assists, including three on goals by Aires, in the tournament.
Tufts faces California Lutheran at 3 p.m. Thursday in Salem, Virginia.
More kudos for Crusaders
Postseason awards have been rolling in for the Holy Cross football team, which shared its record fifth straight Patriot League title.
The PL honored senior quarterback Matthew Sluka as its Offensive Player of the Year, and fifth-year linebacker Jacob Dobbs as its Defensive Player of the Year. Dobbs also earned the award in 2021.
Junior running back Jordan Fuller is the recipient of the New England Football Writers’ Harry Agganis/Harold Zimman Award as the outstanding player in New England.
Additionally, Dobbs, who finished his HC career as the all-time leading tackler in Patriot League history, is the PL Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year and one of 15 finalists for the FedEx Ground Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, which is presented to an FCS student-athlete who excels on the playing field, in the classroom, and across the community.
Dobbs, who has a 3.76 GPA in his economics/religious studies double major, is the fourth HC player to claim the Patriot League’s top football academic honor.
Paulsen signs four for HC men's basketball
Four players signed national letters of intent to join the Holy Cross men’s basketball team next season.
Tyler Boston, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound guard, Max Green, a 6-6, 175-pound guard, Chuck Hare, a 6-10, 210-pound forward, and Aidan Richard, a 6-6, 180-pound forward, are members of the incoming class.
“We’re really excited about the addition of these players to our Holy Cross basketball family,” HC coach Dave Paulsen said. “More importantly, they are tremendous young men who understand and embrace what it means to be excellent members of the community. They are engaged students in the classroom, and they pursue competitive excellence on the court. We have put a premium on recruiting players who place winning above individual accomplishments, who have offensive and defensive versatility, and who are true ‘gym rats,’ with a strong desire to maximize their talents.”
After four straight games away from the Hart Center, HC (2-5) returns home at 7 p.m. Wednesday to face Maine.
Head of the Class
∎ Army freshman forward Jake Hewitt of Fitchburg led all Atlantic Hockey players in scoring last week with five points, on three goals and two assists in three games.
∎ Worcester State junior forward Aaron Nkrumah of Worcester scored 22 points on 54% shooting, and added 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals and an assist to lead the Lancers to a 76-67 win over Western New England.
∎ The WPI men’s basketball team (6-0) debuted at No. 12 in the first D3hoops.com Top 25 poll of the season.
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: College notes: Three CMass stars lift Tufts women's soccer to D3 Final Four
