On Saturday afternoon, the No. 4 men's lacrosse team (11-1, 8-0 NESCAC) conquered one of its oldest demons, upending No. 10 Middlebury in an 11-8, come-from-behind victory, the Jumbos first win on the road against the Panthers in coach Mike Daly's 13-year tenure.
With the win, the Jumbos clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NESCAC tournament and preserved a perfect 8-0 NESCAC record going into the final conference game of the season.
Senior quad-captain attackman D.J. Hessler, a nominee for the NCAA's prestigious Tewaaraton Award, led the Jumbos' efforts with six points and junior face-off specialist Nick Rhoads had a standout day at the X, as Tufts controlled 14 of 23 faceoffs.
"I changed up the grip on my stick a little bit and had my hands a little closer together, which helps a whole bunch," Rhoads said. "Also, we switched up some of the wings and put [sophomore midfielder] Ryan Jorgenson there, which made a big difference."
Middlebury outshot Tufts 57 to 39, but freshman goalkeeper Patton Watkins posted 18 saves and Tufts' defense bounced back from a rocky first period to allow Middlebury only four goals in the final three quarters of play.
The Panthers jumped out to an early lead after sophomore midfielder Erich Pfeffer rebounded a Watkins save and fired a shot past the freshman for the 1-0 advantage.
Thirty seconds later, Middlebury senior midfielder Adam Connor notched a goal of his own and freshman midfielder George Curtis brought the lead to 3-0, scoring with 9 1/2 minutes to play. Just halfway into the first quarter, it appeared that the Jumbos were headed for their second loss in as many weeks.
But senior quad-captain attackman Ryan Molloy stepped up to end Tufts' scoring drought, hammering in two goals before fellow senior quad-captain Matt Witko, a midfielder, added one more to even the game up at three. All three scores came on feeds from Hessler.
"After their run we didn't change anything," Rhoads said. "They'd gotten some lucky breaks. With the wet weather, I don't think Patton was ready for the kinds of bounce shots that they threw at him. But we didn't take any timeouts; we just kept playing our game."
Middlebury sophomore attackman Mike Giordano soon recaptured the lead for the Panthers and Tufts trailed 4-3 at the end of the first period, but the Jumbos came out of the gates strong in the second quarter. Hessler and junior midfielder Kevin McCormick each scored, giving Tufts its first lead of the game before Panthers junior attackman Tim Cahill tied it at 5-5 going into halftime.
Middlebury took two quick leads early in the second half, with the Jumbos equalizing each time. Then, with the game stalled at 7-7, Hessler took control, banking a shot past senior co-captain goalkeeper Ryan Deane to give the Jumbos their second lead with just over a minute remaining in the period.
The Jumbos never trailed again, scoring the last three goals of the contest. Sophomore close defenseman Matt Callahan recorded his first goal of the season, while Witko finished the day with an empty-net score in the closing minute.
"We knew that they played very aggressively so if we were patient instead of dodging right away, and … if we could take advantage of the [isolation], we could get great looks," Hessler said. "They did a pretty good job of taking away our transition game ... near the end of the game we got a few more opportunities, and that's what helped separate us."
In the last period, Watkins took several shots off the helmet to keep Tufts ahead, while Tufts' close defenders also stepped up to deflect Middlebury's final attempts.
"The defense played incredibly," Rhoads said. "There was one point at the end of the game where I think they had the ball for about three minutes and we shut them down the whole time."
The Jumbos, who have recently struggled with possession, played the Panthers to an even 41 groundballs per squad. Tufts' improved midfield play and sense of urgency in loose-ball situations proved a decisive factor in the matchup.
"Middlebury did a great job on the wings on faceoffs getting groundballs. They had one pole that was all over the place, but we kept scrapping and when those opportunities came we made it our opportunity rather than just fifty-fifty," Hessler said. "We're definitely still improving in that area but it's heading in the right direction."
Tufts hosts Babson on Monday before traveling to Bowdoin to conclude the regular season. The Jumbos are focused on these contests, but feel accomplished after capturing home-field advantage for the NESCAC Tournament.
"One of our goals on the team was to host the NESCACs, but even until then, we still have a lot of games left," Hessler said. "That's not really something we've thought about too much, but it's definitely something that we're proud about."
