Less than two weeks ago, the men's lacrosse team was 3-3 and facing a mountain of uncertainty. The Jumbos had just lost their third game in a row, and their dreams of contending for a national championship were fading quickly.
Fast forward to this past weekend, and things suddenly seem a lot brighter.
Tufts scored a 13-8 road victory over NESCAC rival Colby on Saturday, upping the team's winning streak to three. The 13 goals tied a season-high set March 11 against Eastern Conn. and continued a recent run of offensive firepower that has seen the Jumbos reach double figures in scoring in each of the past three games.
The Jumbos were led in points by junior attackman Clem McNally and freshman attackmen D.J. Hessler and Ryan Molloy. Hessler scored two goals and dished four assists to bring his team-leading points tally to 30. Molloy scored three goals, giving him 10 over Tufts' current winning streak. McNally also contributed three scores, bringing his season total to 11 goals in five games since his return from a broken jaw.
"It's just a matter of us playing better lacrosse," McNally said. "It's not because of any particular individual. It's a group effort."
Despite the team's inconsistency this season, McNally says he hopes the Jumbos can maintain a high level of play the rest of the season.
"I hope we're not a streaky team," he said. "I don't want us to be streaky. We had a three-game swoon, and we've rebounded to turn things around. But we don't want to lose more games and have to turn it around again."
Tufts took control of the game from the start, striking first on a goal by Molloy and never relinquishing that lead. The Jumbos led 4-1 with less than eight minutes to play in the second quarter when the Mules scored two quick goals to narrow the lead to 4-3.
But Tufts struck back, scoring four goals in the final 63 seconds of the second quarter to open up a wide lead heading into halftime.
"It was close at the end of the first quarter," senior quad-captain Tucker Merrigan said. "But we scored four goals in the final minute and a half of the half, and that's what really took us off. That gave us the momentum factor, and we carried that through the rest of the game."
Sophomore midfielder Mike Droesch was key to the team's offensive success, as he won 16 of 22 faceoffs and allowed the squad to continually maintain possession. He also led the team with 13 ground balls.
"Mike winning the faceoffs was huge," McNally said. "He kept allowing us to keep possession and have chances to score goals."
Tufts scored three more times in the third quarter for seven unanswered goals and an 11-3 lead. In the fourth quarter, Molloy added two more goals, both of which were assisted by Hessler. Overall, the dynamic rookie duo collaborated on three scores.
Junior goalie Matt Harrigan was solid again in goal, recording 11 saves on the day in 56 minutes of play.
"Every year, the offense always takes a little while to click," Merrigan said. "It takes time to figure out people's spots and where the looks are going to be. We've seen the offense grow and develop chemistry this year. We've definitely found a groove."
The team's next game is a crucial in-region contest with Endicott on Tuesday. Although Tufts has defeated the Gulls in the teams' five previous matchups, the squad is expecting a tough challenge as Endicott fields the No. 17-ranked team in the country. After taking on the Gulls, the Jumbos will face NESCAC rival Bowdoin on Saturday.
"The game against Endicott is huge," Merrigan said. "It's like the game against [Western New England] but bigger because Endicott beat Wesleyan. Bowdoin is also a big NESCAC game. It's a chance for us to redefine ourselves."
