Men's Lacrosse | Jumbos get last laugh against Lord Jeffs

In the final quarter, Acton, a constant thorn in the Jumbos’ side, finished another look to pull the Lord Jeffs within one, but that was the closest they came, as Bailey and Kirwan bested Jakimo for three more goals, prompting coach Jon Thompson to pull the senior from the net. 

“We rarely change our offensive game plan, and this game was no different,” Wood said. “Some people may say we need to slow it down after a long defensive hold to protect our defense, but we feel that we do that by scoring goals, which is why we are always going to the goal as hard as possible, trying to get the best shots.”

Sophomore midfielder Aaron Mathias notched the Lord Jeffs’ third man-up goal of the day, but the Jumbos then posted five solid minutes of lockdown defense to close out the game. The Jumbos could not have closed out the contest in a more fitting way, as the NESCAC’s leading assist (Bailey) man found its leading goalscorer (Wood) to put the game on ice.

“[Saturday] was a game of runs,” Watkins said. “Amherst is a strong team. We knew they would do good things, but by controlling the tempo of the game and sticking to our game plan, we were able to convert on a few more looks down the stretch to snag the ‘W.’”

On Saturday, the conference tournament’s top-seeded Jumbos will host the Camels at Bello Field as they look to three-peat as conference champions. In the two teams’ last meeting, Tufts defeated Conn.College 16-9, but the Camels have been hot of late. After dropping their first three games of the season, including the loss to the Jumbos, the Camels have won 10 of their last 12 games and surged to a 6-4 NESCAC mark, good for a tie for third place. 

When a streaking Camels squad rolls into Medford this weekend, a repeat of the Jumbos’ dominant March 13 performance is unlikely. The spot in Sunday’s conference championship is up in the air in what should be a thrilling contest.