The men's lacrosse team pulled off a crucial win Wednesday afternoon against Wesleyan College to clinch a playoff berth. The 13-9 victory also ended the Jumbos' two-game slide and boosted them to .500 (4-4) in the NESCAC.
"As far as [Wednesday] goes, it was a do-or-die situation and we came out and did what we had to do to win," senior attack Jon Zissi said.
The team faced a quick 0-3 deficit through 2:45 in the game, but quickly bounced back and scored six consecutive goals to position itself at 7-5 by the half. Zissi began the onslaught and followed with three goals while senior co-captain Dave Supple shone equally as bright with three of his own. Supple has 13 goals on the season and seven assists, good for 20 points. The squads traded goals throughout the second and third frames, but the Jumbos pulled away in the fourth when they outscored the Cardinals 4-2.
"It was a great, great team win," Zissi said. "Everyone played well, every starter played as well as they could, and a lot of guys played small but key roles as far as subs and underclassmen which was nice"
Zissi and Supple led the team in scoring with a hat trick apiece, while sophomore Drew Innis, senior co-captain Jim Mandler and rookie Bryan Griffin put in two each, and senior Jack Palmer ended the game with a tally of his own. Mandler had a five-point game as he added two assists, as did Zissi who now has 36 total points to his credit (26g, 10a). However, freshman attack Bryan Griffin currently leads in team scoring with 40 points (27g, 13a). Tufts has received scoring from 17 of 32 players while coach Mike Daly has been able to play all of his players.
Senior goaltender Kirk Lutwyler made 19 saves on the day en route to the victory and now boasts a saving percentage of over 60 percent. Cardinal goalie Matt Wheeler saved ten.
The team faces Conn. College on Saturday, at home, in its last regular season match of the year. The Camels are currently ranked ninth in the NESCAC with a 1-6 record. The Jumbos could potentially finish the season in the top four in NESCAC and secure a home field advantage in the first round of playoffs.
"We're already in, but we'd like to win Saturday to get a better seed for playoffs," Zissi said. "We like our chances no matter who we play. I think we're going to do really well in the playoffs."
Though the squad has had a tough time with NESCAC teams throughout April, suffering four losses, the players feel that they can pull together and put the losses behind them. As of now, it is unclear who the Jumbos will face in the first round of playoffs, as final standings will depend on the weekend's outcome.
"I think we got all of our kinks out in the Bates game and our other losses," Zissi said. "Things are looking good."
