Spring break will be no break for men's lacrosse

While many Tufts students will be enjoying the sun and relaxing on some exotic beach during spring break, the men's lacrosse team will be competing against some of the top teams in New England and the country over the next ten days.

The Jumbos will begin their spring trip tonight against Endicott College, one of the top fifteen teams in New England. After Endicott, the team travels south to Baltimore, where it will compete against Whittier College, which has one of the top ten lacrosse programs in the nation. The Jumbos will wrap up their trip against Western New England.

According to coach Mike Daly, Endicott and Whittier will pose the biggest challenges for his team.

"Endicott and Whittier will be good tests for us," Daly said. "But there isn't a team in this country that we're afraid [of]. If we maintain our focus and execute the fundamentals we can compete with anyone. When we lose this mentality, we run into problems."

The biggest challenge the team has faced thus far has been getting outside to practice, especially after this week's weather. Although practicing indoors has been effective, the Jumbos haven't been able to simulate many game situations, which indoor practices cannot provide.

"Our biggest problem has been the weather," Daly said. "Getting outside on a field just gives us so many more options in practice. It could be a factor for us as we compete with teams down south who have had the benefit of practicing outdoors, but there are so many other factors in the sport. We're not going to use the inclement weather as an excuse."

The Jumbos came out strong in their first game against MIT, winning 16-4. However, according to Daly, it's still too early in the season to make any assumptions about the team.

"We had a good showing against MIT," Daly said. "We had some problems adjusting in certain game situations, but we'll work those things out."

Overall, the Jumbos will look to use their balanced attack to their advantage against other squads around the region. The team doesn't rely on one single player to be omnipresent, but rather has a slew of role players capable of hurting its opponents. According to Daly, the Jumbos will play efficiently and rely on every player to carry out his role.

"We don't have one guy who will carry us all season," Daly said. "Everyone plays different roles, and as long as they execute their roles, we'll be successful. We've got a lot of great kids who love lacrosse, and want to win, so we'll be competitive."

The Jumbos will look to improve on last season's trip, when they faced three tough opponents over the course of the week. The Jumbos will only face one team this year that they did last year, Endicott. During last year's trip, the team also battled Eastern Connecticut and Western New England, going 2-1 in the three contests.

Tufts was led by junior standout Bryan Griffin, who notched 11 goals and three assists in those three games. While the Jumbos will face considerably stiffer competition this week, the squad will look to Griffin, classmates Devin Clarke and Devin Taylor, and senior tri-captains Matt Malatesta, Tom Mulcahy, and Dave Rodman, to lead the way.