Team opens home season with blowout win, goes 2-1 over break

While many Tufts students basked on the beach or hit the slopes for some spring skiing, the men's lacrosse team used the week off to work on its game.

After falling 17-9 to national No. 14 Whittier College in Baltimore on Wednesday, the Jumbos returned home to blow out the Western New England College Golden Bears yesterday at Zimman Field, 18-9.

Tufts handily controlled the game against the Bears. Junior All-American and co-NESCAC player of the week Bryan Griffin helped put Tufts up 4-1 near the end of the first quarter with goals at 4:15 and 3:02. The goals were just two of Griffin's five on the day.

"Bryan did a great job being the best player in New England," coach Mike Daly said. "He helped us control the game early on."

Western New England responded to Griffin's goals with one of its own, cutting the gap between the two squads down to one at 4-2 at the end of the first quarter. The Bears continued to inch closer to the Jumbos with another quick goal just seconds into the second frame.

This would be as close as Western New England would get to the Jumbos, ranked No. 17 nationally. With sharp passing and long stints of possession in the Bears' zone, Tufts shot in four more goals before the halftime whistle.

Junior goalie Luke Chicco came through in the clutch several times in the first half, blocking two hard shots from close range. Chicco surrendered just three goals in the entire first half and would only give up six during his 53 minutes between the pipes.

Tufts drew first blood when play resumed after the break to push the score up to 9-3.

Western New England seemed to fall back on its heels early in the half and had trouble clearing its zone and initiating counter attacks.

Tufts kept the ball on the Bears' end of the field for the first part of the quarter, but began to falter as the seven minute mark approached.

"Mental mistakes against college teams will cost goals," Daly said. "When we play the way we know how, we're successful. When we don't, we get into trouble."

This brief bout of mental mistakes did end up costing the Jumbos in the second part of the third quarter. The Bears scored a quick, man-up goal when a Jumbo attackman bobbled the ball, causing a turnover and sharp shot. A minute later, the Bears struck again to edge closer to Tufts at 9-5.

The momentum appeared to have shifted as the Bears put much more pressure on the Tufts net and played more physically. The quarter ended with the Jumbos up by four, 10-6, and the Bears on a surge.

However, this surge quickly fizzled in the fourth quarter. The Jumbos bounced back with a vengeance netting eight unanswered goals to start the period, many by younger, less-experienced players.

"The best part [about our team] is that we have 37 great players," Daly said. "There is not much a fall off when we put in the guys who [don't play as much.]."

Seven Jumbos, including three sophomores and one freshman, scored in the game. Sophomore Billy Granger and classmate Adam Delaney-Winn each contributed three goals while junior Devin Clarke and sophomore Dane Carillo notched two.

Senior tri-captains Matt Malatesta and Tom Mulcahy joined freshman Mark Warner with one each.

Western New England scored three goals in the last few minutes of the game to create the final 18-9 score.

With the win, Tufts moved to 3-1 on the season. The Jumbos fell to Whittier on March 24 despite three goals by senior tri-captain Matt Malatesta.

Whittier senior Ryan Bateman stole the show scoring six goals and contributing two assists in the Poets' win.

On Friday March 19, Tufts earned its second win of the season against Endicott College in Beverly, Ma., 9-4. The Gulls took their fourth straight loss despite the Jumbos' trouble with penalties early in the game. Junior Devin Clarke was Tufts' scoring leader in that game with three balls into the net.

Tufts will continue its home season on Wednesday against Eastern Connecticut.