Contact: Melissa Martin

AMHERST, Mass. – Tufts University junior Dakota Sikes-Keilp scored the game-winner in the 47th minute to lift the fifth-seeded Jumbos to a 1-0 victory over fourth-seeded Amherst College in NESCAC field hockey quarterfinal action Saturday at Gooding Field. 

With the win, Tufts (12-4, 6-4 NESCAC) advances to the semifinals to play top- seeded Bowdoin College Saturday, Nov. 8th in Brunswick, Maine. Amherst (12-4, 7-3 NESCAC) hopes to receive an at-large bid to the upcoming NCAA Tournament when the 24-team field is officially announced Nov. 10. Saturday's matchup was the first-ever meeting between the NESCAC rivals in the conference postseason tournament.

In what proved to be a defensive battle, neither team was able to generate much offense in the opening minutes with the first shot of the game coming at the 10:49 mark. The best scoring opportunity for either side came at the 29:28 mark in the first half when the Jeffs' Mary Margaret Stoll '17 was able to corral a rebound and put a backhanded shot on net. However, Jumbo senior goaltender Bri Keenan read the play well and came up with a big save. 

Twelve minutes into the second half, Tufts capitalized on its sixth penalty corner of the game as Sikes-Keilp gathered the pass from Alexandra Jamison '16 and took a hard low shot from the top left of the circle that beat Emily Horwitz '17 on her right side. 

The tally proved to be enough for Tufts as Amherst was unable to gain any momentum in the final 15 minutes of play.  

The Jumbos held an advantage in both shots and corner opportunities, 10-4 and 7-5, respectively. Horwitz (10-2) recorded eight saves for Amherst, while Keenan (12-4) finished with three for Tufts.