Medford, Mass.--Sophomore Dakota Sikes-Keilp (Montclair, N.J.) registered a hat trick in the first half as the Tufts field hockey team earned a 4-2 victory over Babson College in a non-conference game Tuesday afternoon at Bello Field.

Babson would take a 1-0 lead when junior Morgan Lockwood (Feeding Hills, Mass.) converted a penalty stroke past the diving Tufts goalkeeper just eight minutes into the game.

The Jumbos answered right back when Sikes-Keilp scored three unanswered goals to give her team a 3-1 lead. Her first goal came off a corner and was a straight shot from the top of the circle assisted by Emily Cannon (Atkinson, NH) with 15:10 on the clock. Just seven minutes later, she collected the rebound from the Babson goalkeeper and put it in the back of the net for the lead. Sikes-Keilp completed the hat trick when she scored on the pass by Annie Artz (Gates Mills, OH).

Chelsea Yogerst (San Diego, CA) gave the Jumbos a 4-1 halftime lead off the assist by Cannon.

Sophomore Elizabeth Holmes (Southborough, Mass.) scored the lone goal of the second half for both teams when she scored unassisted in the 41st minute.

The Jumbos dominated play for most of the game, finishing with a 30-8 advantage in shots and 11-3 in penalty corners. Beaver goalkeeper, senior Kayla Florence (Milton, Mass.), kept her team in the game by making a career-high 17 saves. Bri Keenan made five saves for the win in net.

Tufts improved to 2-0 overall and will next host Colby College Saturday at 1 pm.

Babson (2-2) will travel to Wesleyan for a non-conference game Friday at 5 pm.

Note: Taken from a Tufts University press release.