After losing to NESCAC rivals Middlebury and Colby last week, the men's lacrosse team bounced back with a victory over No. 16 Western New England College (WNEC) 11-10 in Springfield on Tuesday night.
In a tightly contested matchup, junior midfielder Brett Holm scored the game-winning goal for No. 23 Tufts with just 10 seconds left on the clock.
With the score deadlocked and just seconds remaining, Tufts freshman goalie Matt Harrigan made a save, his 11th of the night, and cleared to Holm, who took the ball coast-to-coast unguarded to hit the game-winning shot.
Tufts' recent losses and WNEC's national ranking added both significance and an element of unpredictability as the Jumbos entered the contest.
"Unfortunately, I had no idea how we would play," coach Mike Daly said. "I have great faith in our players and am an undying optimist, so I was excited about the opportunity to play a top team in the country. We have great respect for Coach Klepacki and WNEC. They are nationally ranked and a top team in New England, so it was a huge game for us."
The Jumbos improved to 8-4 overall (3-3 NESCAC) with the win and broke WNEC's six-game winning streak, handing the Golden Bears only their second loss of the season. WNEC now stands at 10-2 overall.
Both teams came out strong, with the Golden Bears taking a close 4-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. Freshman attack Clem McNally was the first Jumbo to score. The goal, his first of three on the day, came on an unassisted shot just under three minutes in to the game. The freshman's hat trick more than doubled his goal total for the season, bringing him to five.
"Clem played great," senior co-captain Billy Granger said. "He moves very well off ball and was able to get open on the crease for good shots."
WNEC's Scott Kukis responded at 9:01 with a goal, and Tufts senior midfielder Mike O'Brien found the net soon after for the Jumbos at 7:40. But WNEC came back strong when senior Joe Cassani, junior Adam Cherry, and Kukis scored three in a row. Holm tallied another goal to keep the game close, leaving the score 4-3 as the teams broke for the quarter.
The second quarter mirrored the first, as McNally again scored the initial goal, this time on an assist from junior midfielder Chris Connelly. The Golden Bears retaliated with another trio of scores, two from Cofrin and another from Cherry.
Despite 29 first-half shots and a defensive effort that held the Bears to just 16, the Jumbos trailed 7-4 at halftime.
That defense tightened up even more, and the Tufts attack executed according to its initial strategy as the Jumbos took over in the second half.
"Our guys did a great job sticking to the game plan and the shots began to fall for us," Daly said. "The defense pulled together and got it done in the second half, holding a very good offensive team to three goals."
"Defensively we really settled down in the second half," Holm added. "The defense kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win."
Defense is rarely glorified in lacrosse statistics, but it made the difference on the day, allowing just 11 WNEC second-half shots and clearing 13 of its 19 attempts. Strong, consistent play by junior Alex Bezdek, senior Ave Cook, junior Wiley Dornseif, and senior Tim Flanagan has anchored the team throughout the season and was showcased in Tuesday's win.
On the offensive end, Holm opened the second half with an unassisted goal just under four minutes in. Sophomore Mike Kelly tallied two goals for WNEC, but freshman Chase Bibby responded with an unassisted score with 1:30 left in the quarter.
It wasn't until the final quarter that the Jumbos exploded offensively to take the game. Their 12 fourth-quarter shots were too much for WNEC back-up goalie sophomore James Ells, who allowed five goals while recording only two saves in the frame.
"The fourth quarter was big for us," co-captain Rory Doucette said. "We went in down a few goals knowing we had no room to make defensive mistakes. Defensively we had a few mistakes in the first half which they capitalized on, but in the second half we minimized our mistakes and gave our offense a chance to get us back in the game and give us an eventual win."
Granger scored his 11th goal of the season with 12:31 left in the game and McNally scored another to complete his hat trick at 11:44, both assisted by junior attack Mark Warner, who leads the team in assists with 13.
A WNEC goal with 10 minutes remaining didn't hinder the Jumbos, and goals by Bibby and senior midfielder Mike Hughes tied the game at 10, setting up Holm's game winner.
The win stopped a two-game slide and may help the Jumbos recover some lost ground in the national polls. Tufts slid from No. 16 to No. 23 last week with losses to top-ranked Middlebury and unranked Colby.
The Jumbos will be traveling to Bates this weekend to take on the No. 12 Bobcats. Bates is at the top of the NESCAC at 5-1 in the league and 9-1 overall, with their only loss coming to No. 27 Connecticut College.
"[This win] gives us some momentum going into the game, but Bates is a great team and they don't care that we beat WNEC," Holm said. "So we need to come out with that same urgency and play a great game as a team to have a chance to win."
