With many question marks floating throughout the first few weeks of the season, the men's lacrosse team finally found some answers on Saturday with its 7-4 victory over Williams. The first NESCAC win of the season also marked the first time that the Jumbos have defeated Williams in six years.
"We were definitely stoked," junior Jon Zissi said. "They are always a cocky team, and it felt great to beat them."
The Jumbos (5-3, 1-2) played a strong defensive game and were able to run the patient style of offense they prefer, outscoring the Ephmen (1-5, 0-2) 6-2 in the second half.
"Our defense always plays well," sophomore Alex Kerwin said. "We tried to slow the game down a little to not give their offense as many chances."
Zissi and senior co-captain Dan Kollar led the team with three goals apiece. The duo has taken over the brunt of the scoring duties in the past two games, with a combined 14 goals.
"We were able to posses the ball better," Zissi said. "We were trying to spread them out and isolate them and get the one on ones. It's basically an attack oriented offense. This way the middies have been able to rest and play better defense."
The game began at a slow scoring pace, and Williams led Tufts 2-1 at the half. After a slow third quarter, Zissi connected twice in the final 2:32, giving Tufts the 3-2 lead. Kollar scored three goals and junior midfielder Jim Mandler added another in the first seven minutes of the fourth, giving Tufts a 7-2 advantage. The Ephmen attempted to stage a comeback, beating junior goalkeeper Kirk Lutwyler twice, but he and the defense were able to hold on for the most important win of the season.
"It was a big momentum builder," sophomore defenseman Dave Richman-Raphael said. "We really came into this game wanting and needing the win. There has been a big rivalry between us and Williams, and everyone played at the top of their game."
"It was definitely a solid game," Kerwin said. "They weren't quite as good as they have been in past years, but it was our first NESCAC win, which was also huge for us."
Now 1-2 in the NESCAC, the Jumbos' postseason hopes and team confidence were revived with the victory. Six of the ten NESCAC teams have only one win or less, leaving the conference wide open.
Next on tap for the Jumbos will be the most daunting task of the season - defending national champion Middlebury. At 3-0 in the NESCAC, the Panthers have breezed by Amherst, Colby, and Conn. College by a combined score of 51-23. The underdog Jumbos have home field advantage and confidence riding on their side for Wednesday's match, and feel the Panthers are not quite as good as their record might indicate. Middlebury barely escaped an upset against Union College on Tuesday after Union rallied to make the score 8-7. Tufts faced Union over Spring Break, and despite losing 11-4, the Jumbos felt as though it was a game they would have won on any other day.
"We'd like to pull the upset," Zissi said. "We have nothing to lose, and they have everything to lose."
"We are going to play the same kind of lacrosse that we did against Williams," Richman-Raphael said. "When we play together as a team, we can play with anybody."
Tufts will host Middlebury on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the most difficult game on its schedule. Following Middlebury, Tufts' record gets slightly easier, as the team will face Colby, Amherst, and Bates, who own a combined 3-6 NESCAC record.
