According to an old adage, all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately for the men's lacrosse team, such was the case for the Jumbos' eight-game winning streak that came to an abrupt halt at the hands of Trinity this weekend.
The men's lacrosse team (8-1, 5-1 NESCAC) suffered its first major hiccup of the season on Saturday, losing 11-9 to Trinity on the road in Hartford, Conn. The loss ended the nationally ranked No. 5 Jumbos' win streak, pulling them back into a tie for first in the NESCAC with Middlebury, a team they will travel to face next Saturday.
"I'm upset about it," senior goalie Matt Harrigan said. "The biggest thing to take from this is that we're not invincible. We can be beaten, and we can't take anything for granted. I think we came in thinking about the trio of ranked opponents that we have next and were overlooking Trinity. It was pretty solemn [Saturday] on the bus ride back. I don't think anybody talked."
The loss to the unranked Bantams -- a game thought to be a warm-up for upcoming faceoffs against No. 10 Western New England, No. 7 Middlebury and No. 12 Endicott -- was a reality check for a team with national championship aspirations.
Trinity got off to a fast start on its home field, striking first less than two minutes into the game on a goal by senior midfielder Zachary Trudeau. The Bantams added two more in the first quarter, controlling possession by taking four of five faceoffs and 12 of 15 groundballs in the period.
"I'm not sure any of us played like we're capable of playing," said Harrigan, who made 11 saves on the day. "We were missing our usual ferociousness and tenacity. Groundballs were a big thing. Usually, we win those and give ourselves chances to score."
The Jumbo offense was also stifled by the nature of Trinity's patient attack.
"They played a really slowed-down, possession-oriented offense," sophomore attackman D.J. Hessler said. "They like to pass the ball around a lot and hold the ball for long spurts. It limited our ability to score."
For Tufts' defense, the slow start represented a breakdown in communication.
"We had trouble communicating in our flys," Harrigan said. "We focused more on a one-on-one approach. In transition, when someone got beat, there wasn't anyone there to check up on them. We weren't spotting at all."
In spite of the early struggles, Tufts fought hard after the break. Down 7-5 at halftime, the Jumbos rallied back to even the score, 9-9, midway through the fourth quarter, thanks to second-half goals from the reliable trio of senior tri-captain Clem McNally and sophomores Ryan Molloy and D.J. Hessler.
But Trinity soon regained the upper hand, reclaiming the lead with 5:45 remaining and icing the game just two minutes after that.
One other factor that may have played into Trinity's hands was its decision to play the game on the school's grass field rather than on turf. The slower surface may have diminished some of the quickness that Tufts' attack is known for.
"It had rained, and people were slipping a lot," Harrigan said. "The grass field is also a little shorter, which may have slowed us down in transition."
Despite the bitter taste from losing their first game, the Jumbos realize that Saturday's game marks an opportunity to take stock of their results thus far and hopefully move forward through the stretch run stronger for it.
"It sucks to lose, but a loss now is better than a loss like this later in the season or in the playoffs," Hessler said. "My hope is that we can take this loss and refocus. We always want to play well, but [coach Mike Daly] talks about how three weeks from now is when we really need to be at our peak. We realize that we can't walk on water. We can't just walk over all our opponents, so maybe we can spin this into a positive light."
The Jumbos won't have long to reflect on Saturday's events, however, as they host the WNEC Golden Bears -- a team on a six-game winning streak, including a 13-4 win over Endicott over the weekend -- on Bello Field tomorrow night.
"They're very good," Hessler said. "They just beat Endicott, who is supposed to be good, and they've played some other close games. They're a young team, so they may have started off slow, but they're improving as the young guys gain some confidence. They're real quick and athletic, and they like an up-tempo style, similar to us."
"We've got practice tomorrow to regroup and then Western New England under the lights [tomorrow] night, so we've got to stay focused," Harrigan added. "I think we will."
