The men's lacrosse team continued to stake its claim as the top Div. III team in New England on Tuesday night, dominating opponents Bates in the final three quarters on its way to a 12−6 victory. After finishing the first quarter behind 5−3, the Jumbos surged back into the game on the heels of some strong team defense and the stellar play of sophomore goalie Steven Foglietta, who was substituted for junior starter Bryan Petillo at the beginning of the second quarter.
The Jumbos — who had given up the first goal in three out of their last four NESCAC games — came out strong at first against Bates, with juniors D.J. Hessler and Matt Witko netting two quick goals to put Tufts ahead, 2−0. But this early surge was quickly followed by four consecutive Bobcat goals. As the first quarter ended, the Jumbos were down by two goals and scrambling to find answers.
"We struggled a bit coming out flat, but [at the end of the first quarter] we talked about how this is our season and that we decide how good we're going to be," senior co−captain Doug DiSesa said. "We picked each other up and came together, pulled together as one instead of trying to do everything individually."
In the final three quarters of the game, the Jumbos were dominant, outscoring the Bobcats 9−1. Goals in the second quarter from junior Ryan Molloy and sophomore Kevin McCormick evened the score at 6−6 going into the half. And in the second half, the Jumbos, with a deadly combination of smothering defense and solid goalkeeping from Foglietta, shut down Bates' offensive attack and kept the Bobcats off the scoreboard completely.
"Our whole defensive unit just clamped down from the second quarter on," Witko said. "The defense definitely got their communication much better, particularly in the second half when they didn't give up a goal."
While the Jumbos struggled to win face−offs against Bates, Tufts was able to control possession by crushing the Bobcats in the ground ball category 34−21. The Jumbos' defensive pressure was also a major factor, forcing Bates into 33 turnovers compared to 24 for Tufts.
"The defense played a big role in our offensive [attack]," Witko added. "They enabled us to get the ball a lot more and have the possessions that allowed us to score more."
The substitution of Foglietta for Petillo in the second quarter proved to be a major turning point in the game. Coach Mike Daly has done a bit of mixing and matching with his team's goalkeeping this year, and on Tuesday the move paid off, as Foglietta, in 45 minutes of action, allowed only one goal while making 10 saves.
Foglietta started in goal earlier this year in a game against Skidmore, but with the Jumbos down 9−7 at the half, Daly decided to put Petillo in the game in an attempt to boost his team's momentum. The result was a second half in which the Jumbos throttled the Thoroughbreds 8−1. On Tuesday, the two goalies' roles were reversed, but the result was the same: a resounding comeback victory.
"Our team is blessed because we have two or three goalies that can step up when we need them," DiSesa said. "We [as a defense] hadn't been protecting Bryan, but when Steve came in, we rallied around him, just like we rallied around Bryan at Skidmore.
"We're fine with whoever's in the cage," he continued. "It's more about team defense than any specific player."
With Tuesday's win, the team moves to 8−0 on the season and 5−0 within the NESCAC. In its first eight games of 2009, Tufts had jumped out to an identical record and also ranked in the top 10 in the national poll before a 9−11 road loss at Trinity College snapped the team's win streak. The Jumbos will have a shot at redemption against their conference rival this Saturday at home on Bello Field.
"It's always fun playing on Bello and seeing all our fans lining up on the sideline," DiSesa said. "Especially with Trinity being a conference rival and with what happened last year, it should be a good game."
"Trinity is a very good team who ended our undefeated run last year," Witko added. "And we respect every team that we play, but we go into every game expecting to win."
