Live Blog: Men's lacross @ Middlebury

Also surprised the Jumbos didn't go to McNally's potent left hand for the final shot of the day. Today wasn't Harrigan's best in the cage, Middlebury seemed to win the majority of the draws particularly in the second half, preventing the offense from having as many chances as their opponents. Certainly strong efforts from the whole team, though. Nobody was ever slacking, maybe just some poor decision making.

The game really came down to stupid errors and not taking care of the ball on Tufts' part. Too much loose ball garbage that led to Middlebury goals. The Jumbos suffer their second loss of the season and Middlebury takes sole possession of the NESCAC lead.

Final score, Middlbury 11, Tufts 10. Last attempt by D.J. Hessler crushed as he was pushed into the crease and a crease violation was called, but somehow there wasn't a push call.

Timeout Tufts. Initial shot attempt from Chase Bibby stopped by Middlebury goalie. Tufts retains possession, 27 seconds left. Probably time for one more good look. This game is going down to the wire for NESCAC supremacy.

Tufts timeout. Tufts has possession after a looseball push on Middlebury. There is 1:19 left to play, Tufts down a goal. They will likely come up with a play and have at least one good look at the cage.

Timeout Middlebury, 1:46 to play, Middlebury with possession. 11-10 Middlbury.

Middlebury continues to possess, 3 min to play, 11-10 still. The Jumbos need to make something happen on defense.

Tufts continues to lose faceoffs, giving the Panthers more opportunities to score. Middlebury possession with 5 min to play in the game. 11-10 Panthers.

Middlebury goal no. 14 Mike Stone. 11-10 Panthers, 6 min to play.

Middlebury possesses after faceoff.

Tufts goal, No. 20 Kevin Williams, assist D.J. Hessler. Beautiful ball movement once again for the Bos. 10-10, 6:30 to play in the game.

Tufts goal Clem McNally, assist Ryan Molloy. Probably one of the most beautiful goals ever seen in the game of lacrosse. Quick feeds non-stop back and forth, around the horn, front to behind the cage, culminating in an off-balance shot by McNally to beat the keeper. Tufts posssesses of the faceoff. 8 min to play, Midd. 10, Tufts 9. Tufts will go man-up with 7:46 to play.

Middlebury goalie single-handedly keeping the Jumbos at bay. Middlebury possession, 10:30 to play, still 10-8 Panthers.

Tufts is getting decent looks at the goal but not making the extra pass for the quick finish. Tufts still retains possession with 11:45 in the game.

Jordan Yarboro fast break shot stuffed by Middlebury goalie. Tufts retains possession.

The Tufts defense is getting broken down easily, and this must stop if the Jumbos want to make a comeback in the fourth. One-on-one isolations are beating the Jumbo D and slides are coming late. Middlebury possession off the faceoff.

At the end of quarter 3, the score is Middlebury 10, Tufts 8.

Middlebury possession off faceoff. Going for last shot.

Middlebury goal. 48 seconds in third. Midd. 10, Tufts 8.

Tufts man-up goal No. 6 Matt Witko. 1:32 in the third, assist Kevin Williams.

Tufts man-up at 2:04 in the third.

Another low angle, low probability, weak shot gives Panthers a quick clear and fast break. Fast break unsuccessful as pass is thrown away. Tufts possession. 2:25 in third quarter.

Tufts goal, no. 20 Kevin Williams, unassisted. Tufts 7, Midd. 9. Jumbos win ensuing faceoff.

Tufts takes 3 or 4 very poor shots, low angle, low probability.

Andrew Elfman intercepts pass on Middlebury fast break, gets penalty from Middlebury slash on the head. Tufts man-up.

Tufts defense ultimately prevails in a long sequence of shots and scrappy play. Tufts possession.

Solid ball movement from Middlebury but equally impressive D from the Jumbos. Still 9-6 Panthers, 7:30 to play in the third. Harrigan has made a few key saves to keep his team in the mix.

Failure to advance on Tufts. Tragically sloppy play from the Jumbos, not taking care of the ball, though the Panthers are giving them no room to maneuver. Middlebury ball.

Middlbury goal. Midd. 9, Tufts 6. 11:15 in the third.

Extremely sloppy care of the ball and poor decision-making has led the Jumbos to turn the ball over to the Panthers on two consecutive possessions to start the 2nd half. Middlebury ball.

Start of the second half.

Middlebury is playing generally solid ball across the board. They are getting caught turning their heads on defense and allowing McNally and some others to creep into shooting position and then they subsequently receive the ball and have a good look at the cage. Other than that, the Panthers are playing less sloppily than the Jumbos, and in the end that could prove to be the difference. Their goal late in the first half came off of a loose ball near the cage that Tufts essentially had several times, but some tough resilience from the Panthers didn't allow the Jumbos to clear successfully. Ultimately the Panthers gained position and found the majority of the Tufts D out of position, and then they capitalized.

As a general comment, Tufts needs to possess the ball. Tufts' goals have been scored predominantly on quick sequences, which is clearly potent when it is done right. However, the Jumbos have played some sloppy D, possbily due to fatigue, letting men roam in front of the cage. The lack of extended possession on offense is giving the Middlebury offense too much time to work with. The Tufts D is strong at first but after some quick passes around the horn sems to be breaking down a bit easier than usual. So, Tufts' second half key: possess the ball. Score some goals and prevent Middlebury from having the chance to do the same.

Halftime. Middlbury 8, Tufts 6.

Middlebury goal with 35.8 left to play in the half. Midd. 8, Tufts 6

Middlebury timeout with 1:16 to play in the half. Middlebury seems to be hitting Harrigan on the stick-side, maybe catching him off guard. Tough screens in front of the cage are possibly affecting his ability to see the ball coming out of the stick.

Middlebury goal. Loose ball near the cage won by Middlebury, who then put in a quick pass-and-dump for the goal. Midd. 7, Tufts 6. 1:45 in the first half

Tufts goal by Clem McNally, unassisted. Tufts 6, Midd. 6, 3:52 in the half. Good work by faceoff man Mike Droesch in setting up the goal.

Middlebury goal no. 14 Mike Stone. Shot beat Harrigan stick-side high. Middlebury 6 Tufts 5, 4:15 in the half

Tufts goal by No. 40 Andrew Giocondi, unassisted off faceoff. Tufts 5, Midd. 5, 5:15 left in 2nd quarter

Tufts goal by no. 14 Clem McNally, assist D.J. Hessler No. 28. Save Harrigan. DiSesa takes the ball downfield on clear, feeds to Hessler, feeds to McNally. Tufts 4, Midd. 5.

Big save from Tufts goalie Matt Harrigan. Middlebury retains possession

Tufts timeout with 6:48 in 2nd quarter. Score is Midd. 5, Tufts 3. Tufts hasn't created much on offense this quarter, dropping balls and taking a few shots that have gone wide. Generally sloppy on both sides of the field.

Middlebury Goal. Middlebury 5, Tufts 3. 9 min left in 2nd quarter

Update, Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Middlebury 4, Tufts 3 with 9:30 left in the 2nd quarter

UPDATE, Friday, 10:40 p.m. Join sports editor Phil Dear tomorrow as he blogs live from the men's lacrosse team's showdown against NESCAC foe Middlebury. With both teams tied atop the conference standings, the matchup could help decide which of these bitter rivals will grab the top seed for the NESCAC Tournament, scheduled to begin on April 26. The winner of tomorrow's contest will open up at least a half-game lead on Bowdoin with just two weekends of conference play remaining.

Log on to TuftsDaily.com beginning at 2pm tomorrow for complete updates and analysis.

-- Phil Dear