On Saturday, senior co-captain Kevin McCormick had the standout day he and the men's lacrosse team had been waiting for, scoring five points as No. 12 Tufts defeated Williams by a six-point margin that could have easily been larger. With the 11-5 victory, the Jumbos improved to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play, moving them into a tie for first place in the NESCAC after previously undefeated No. 19 Trinity dropped a 9-7 decision to Colby on Sunday.
Although sophomore midfielder David Lee grabbed 12 of 20 faceoffs for the host Ephs, who also won the ground ball battle 40-33, Williams was unable to capitalize on several golden opportunities as Tufts played solid defense and held the hosts to the second-lowest scoring total of any opponent this season.
"I think our [defensive] success was a result of culminating hard work and focus we've put towards improving small aspects of our game," junior pole John Heard said. "On Saturday, everyone just brought their 'A' games and made plays when given the chance. The same goes for our man-down defense. It hasn't been great this year, so I think we had a chip on our shoulder because of it. We played hard and [sophomore] Patton [Watkins] made a bunch of important saves."
Two days earlier, Middlebury had cashed in on five costly Tufts penalties, scoring three man-up goals to stage a second-half comeback on the Jumbos, and nearly pulled off the upset. The Ephs, however, had no such luck, going 0-for-7 on extra-man opportunities.
"We didn't play our best [against Middlebury] and we are working on getting better, so that was a great team win. But we built off that to get another big conference win against Williams."
The Jumbos jumped out to an early lead when freshman attackman Cole Bailey took one to the rack less than two minutes into the contest. Five minutes later, McCormick netted another unassisted goal to double the Jumbos' advantage and then found sophomore attackman Beau Wood - who leads the NESCAC in points per game - at the 3:42 mark. Wood's tally, his 25th goal of the season, capped off Tufts' first quarter run.
Junior midfielder Evan Dedominicis put the Ephs on the board with an unassisted goal early in the second quarter, but the Jumbos responded with another quick three-goal run, including McCormick's second, to seize a 6-1 advantage with six minutes remaining in the first half.
Williams sophomore attackman Colin Foster and Dedominicis each cashed in for the Ephs in the final minutes of the half, drawing them within three, but Jumbos' senior Geordie Shafer finished a goal, helped by McCormick, with 10 seconds left to push the lead back to four.
The Jumbos played stifling defense in the third quarter, holding the Ephs scoreless while allowing them to get off just five shots. Meanwhile, Tufts notched its second consecutive four-goal quarter. Senior midfielder Nick Rhoads finished the first goal for the Jumbos, while Bailey and McCormick each added another. Following McCormick's goal, Rhoads won the ensuing faceoff and took it straight to the cage, besting first-year goalkeeper Sean Dougherty for the Jumbos' second tally in just eight seconds.
"Our offensive game plan hasn't changed," McCormick said. "We aimed to push the ball and attack the cage like we always do. We've just focused each day on improving our execution, and ... on our fundamentals and decisiveness. I think each game we play gives our offense more and more experience and confidence, so we're improving a lot as the season goes on."
Entering the fourth quarter, Tufts led 11-3, and while the team failed to come up with a goal in the final 15 minutes, its defense held strong, letting Williams score just twice. Freshman attackman Andy Grabowski found the back of the net at the 8:55 mark, and four minutes later, Dedominicis knocked in his third goal of the afternoon. But that was all for the Ephs, who fell to a conference-worst 1-5 in league play.
McCormick paced the Jumbos with a hat trick of his own and two assists, while Bailey also put up three points as eight players lit up the scoreboard for Tufts. McCormick, who leads the NESCAC in shots with 11.43 per game, had his most productive outing since March 13, when his five-goal effort led Tufts to a 16-9 victory over Conn. College. Saturday marked the co-captain's third five-goal performance of the season.
"Kevin almost always beats his guy and draws a double team, which allows other guys to get open," Heard said. "I think Williams was hesitant to slide and Kevin was able to get some good looks. He can score any time he gets the ball, which I think gives confidence to everyone else."
For Tufts, the game marked a return to more confident conference play, following a one-goal victory at Middlebury on Thursday that put their season on rocky footing. On Tuesday evening, the Jumbos will face off against the 7-4 Endicott Gulls in their fifth non-conference contest of the season.
Last season, the Gulls were the first team to beat the Jumbos, ending a 19-game winning streak that spanned two seasons and included the team's first national championship win. Last April 12, Tufts dropped a tough 9-8 decision at Endicott, but this time the ball is in its court - or, perhaps more appropriately, on its field - as Tufts returns home after a five-game road trip. Undefeated in two home games thus far, the Jumbos are hungry to avenge last year's loss and settle some unfinished business.
"We will be fired up," McCormick said. "We don't have any trouble kicking into high gear for our games, especially finally having some at home. We're taking the season one game at a time, and we know Endicott will give us a great game as they have in the past. We're certainly not looking past them, and after we take care of that game, we'll worry about the next one."
