This weekend was one of the best in recent history for the men's lacrosse team. By going 2−0 against Bowdoin and Williams, the squad broke the program record for most wins in a season, moving to 14−1. And after a 6−5 loss by the NESCAC tournament No. 1 seed Conn. College Camels to No. 8 Wesleyan, the No. 2 seed Jumbos are now the highest remaining seed and have earned the right to host the rest of the NESCAC Tournament this weekend.
Bouncing back from an emotionally draining overtime win over Bowdoin on Friday, junior D.J. Hessler led the Jumbos to a 13−9 victory in the NESCAC quarterfinals against Williams yesterday at Bello field. Hessler scored twice — including the game−winner — and also had six assists to bring his career total to 106 and break the school record of 101 set by Bryan Griffin (LA '05).
Playing in the blistering heat with limited bottled water, the Jumbos let the Ephs back in the game after leading 8−4 at the half. In the third, Williams dominated with a three−goal run that tied the score at 9−9. But the Jumbos found their second wind when Hessler put one in just before the end of the period.
In the fourth frame, Tufts didn't look back, as juniors Matt Witko and Ryan Molloy each scored before Hessler finished the scoring with 4:34 to go. Looking fatigued in the heat amid the local water crisis, the Ephs didn't fight back and the Jumbos began to celebrate as news of Conn. College's loss reached the field.
"Mark Doughtier, our trainer, supplied us with his own water bottles and ice, which helped us out a lot," sophomore Nick Rhodes said. "After they came back, we started playing a lot smarter and stopped forcing the ball into the crease and making selfish plays driving to the goal and started holding on to the ball more."
Molloy led all scorers with four, while senior Jamie Atkins notched his first career hat trick. Rhodes, who has been dominant all season, won half of the 24 face−offs for Tufts, leaving Williams with equal offensive possessions. However, the Jumbos put their chances to better use, out−shooting the Ephs 46−27 while the defense stayed tight, with junior Alec Bialosky grabbing six ground balls and sophomore keeper Steven Foglietta making nine clutch saves.
On Friday, in a thrilling season finale under the lights, a victory didn't come easily for the Jumbos. The game saw seven ties in the second half alone, and, with no team leading by more than a goal since 10:28 of the second quarter, overtime seemed inevitable.
The teams traded goals for the last 13 minutes of regulation, with Bowdoin junior Owen Smith converting with 58 seconds to play to tie it 13−13. With under 10 seconds remaining, Witko tried to finish it, but sent one over the cage, and time ran out before the Jumbos could get another shot off.
However, the team wouldn't need much more time, as it took only 33 seconds of overtime for sophomore Kevin McCormick to give the Jumbos the 14−13 win.
"We didn't really have a play," said McCormick of the Jumbos' overtime strategy. "But we got the ball, and we were still subbing, so I wasn't planning on doing anything to risk losing possession, but once Alec set the pick, I chose to dodge off of it, and then once I saw an opening for the goal I couldn't not take it. When it went in, I was just really happy."
Tufts had looked rattled at the start as it quickly went down 4−0 in the first 13 minutes. From there, the Jumbos would battle back to tie the game 5−5 midway through the second quarter on a Witko goal. The second half went back and forth, until the McCormick overtime goal sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
On Saturday, Tufts will welcome an upset−minded Wesleyan team in the NESCAC semifinals. Though the Jumbos beat the Cardinals 14−11 in their last meeting a month ago, Wesleyan has since taken down NESCAC No. 3 Amherst 16−8 as well as Conn. College, which on Sunday became the only team to beat the Jumbos this season and the first eight seed in NESCAC history in any sport to beat a No. 1 seed.
The Jumbos will look to knock Wesleyan out of the game early and avoid another long nail−biter so that they can enter Sunday's finals against the winner of the Middlebury−Bowdoin matchup at full throttle.
"When we went to gather around the goalie, people started talking about how Conn. [College] had lost, and we just felt such a relief that we don't have to travel and we get to sleep in our own beds and play on our own field," Rhodes said. "So now we're going to focus on our stick skills and clearing and playing Tufts lacrosse and just believing in our players to do what they do best — win."
"The home−field advantage is the biggest thing right now," McCormick added. "We're just really excited to play on our own field and have all of our fans there watching us. And sleeping in our own beds is always cool."
