It's beginning to look like the road to the NESCAC men's lacrosse tournament crown will run through Middlebury, Vt.
Riding high after a 15-4 win over Western New England College (WNEC) on Tuesday, the nationally ranked No. 10 Jumbos trekked to Youngman Field to take on the No. 4 Middlebury Panthers in a battle of one-loss conference foes. Middlebury proved resilient, however, outlasting the visiting Brown and Blue to earn a crucial 11-10 conference victory. With the win, the Panthers (9-1, 6-1 NESCAC) now hold sole possession of first place in the conference standings with only three games remaining for both them and the Jumbos (9-2, 5-2 NESCAC).
Tufts came into Saturday's showdown looking to build on a new winning streak after falling to Trinity 11-9 last Saturday prior to the Jumbos' midweek triumph over WNEC. Yet the Panthers' offensive depth and the Jumbos' inability to maintain offensive possession for long periods of time proved fatal.
"I thought we did a pretty job containing them on defense for the most part," senior defenseman and tri-captain Jordan Yarboro said. "I think we gave them a bit too much time on offense, though, and we did a poor job clearing the ball. We couldn't ever seem to hold on to a lead, and we were unable to get that go-ahead goal we were looking for late in the game."
In the losing effort, senior tri-captain attackman Clem McNally posted a hat trick to bring his team-leading goal tally to 38. Sophomore attackman Ryan Molloy and senior midfielder Kevin Williams each recorded two goals and one assist. Tufts' points and assists leader, sophomore attackman D.J. Hessler, was limited by Middlebury's defense to just two assists on the afternoon.
For the Panthers, senior midfielder and reigning NESCAC Player of the Year Mike Stone paced his team with three goals and an assist. Senior attackman Skyler Hopkins added two goals in the winning effort.
Middlebury got off to a fast start in the back-and-forth contest with the game's first goal, a Hopkins strike just 32 seconds in. Molloy struck first for the Jumbos, tallying his first of two goals at 10:38 on a feed from sophomore midfielder Matt Witko.
Panthers sophomore attackman David Hild responded for the hosts less than a minute later with his lone goal, but Molloy netted his second score at 9:10 to knot the game at 2-2. Middlebury rattled off two quick scores, beating Tufts senior goaltender Matt Harrigan in the opening quarter's final two minutes, yet the Jumbos cut their deficit in half on junior tri- midfielder captain Mike Droesch's goal with 46 seconds remaining on the clock.
After Middlebury pushed the tally to 5-3, the Jumbos evened up the score with two goals in a 12-second span. McNally netted his first of the game on a feed from Hessler, and then senior midfielder Andrew Giocondi quickly took the ball back down to the offensive end and beat Middlebury senior goaltender Pete Britt on an unassisted score. Stone and McNally, two of the conference's top goal scorers, traded consecutive tallies to push the score to 6-6 late in the second frame.
The Panthers strung together three straight scores across the halftime intermission to give them their biggest lead on the afternoon. The margin lasted until the 3:47 mark in the third quarter, when Williams beat Britt on an impressive unassisted effort. Minutes later, the Jumbos netted their lone man-up tally as Williams found Witko for the conversion. Hopkins kept the Panthers in control, however, pushing the lead back to two with his second goal in the contest in the quarter's final minute.
McNally and Williams struck again midway through the fourth on feeds from Molloy and Hessler, respectively, to knot the score for the fifth and final time at 10-10. Stone and the Middlebury offensive attack proved to be slightly too much for the Jumbos in the end, however, as Stone's third tally at 6:03 gave the Panthers a one-goal lead that would not be erased.
"We pulled within one goal, and then as they were stalling the ball out, we were able to get it back from them and get a couple good shot opportunities on net," Yarboro said. "We just weren't able to convert in the last couple minutes, and time ran out on us."
"At the end of the day, [Middlebury] executed enough plays to win the game, and we didn't," Droesch added. "We gained some more composure in the second half, which helped us settle down and play better team defense. But they were a solid defensive team, and they slid early and aggressive on us."
One area of concern for the Jumbos on Saturday was the faceoff battle. Droesch, who boasts a solid .540 winning percentage on the season, performed below expectations against senior midfielder Dave Campbell, taking only eight of 21 draws. In what was a rather even game in essentially all other facets, the team's struggles on the draw may have been the difference.
Defensively, the Jumbos yielded 44 shots, on par with the 43 shots the visitors took against Middlebury. But Tufts was forced to play a majority of the first half on defense, an aspect of the game that may have hurt its chances to put more goals on the board early on.
"After watching the game film, the overall effort on the defensive end was certainly good," Yarboro said. "A little adjustment here and there, and we feel like we're where we want to be. Our defense is built to withstand the heavy pressure that Middlebury put on us. But if we had put together a slightly better defensive effort in the first half, we might've allowed our offense some more time to work and score a couple more goals."
The Jumbos will now look to move past their recent struggles as they prepare for their final non-conference game of the season. Tufts will take on No. 17 Endicott on the road on Tuesday, and a victory over the Gulls is paramount to securing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if the Jumbos fail to win the NESCAC postseason title.
"The loss doesn't change any of our goals for the rest of the season, but I would say that it's a reminder that anyone can beat anyone in this league," Droesch said. "We need to work on staying focused and playing our game no matter the opponent, executing on offense and playing smart on defense."
