Men's lacrosse opens NESCAC season with blowout win

April's arrival means nothing but NESCAC for the men's lacrosse team. The squad's last eight games will all be played against league foes. Tufts began this string of NESCAC battles with a 17-5 trouncing of Trinity on Saturday.

The win in Hartford, Conn. was the fifth of the season for New England's fourth ranked team. It upped the Jumbos' record to 5-1 overall and a perfect 1-0 in league competition, tying Tufts with Amherst, Middlebury, and Bowdoin for first place.

Junior attackman Bryan Griffin once again stood out for Tufts, netting four goals and dishing the ball twice for assists. Classmate Devin Clarke added four goals of his own, bringing his point total to six in two games, and sophomore Bill Granger found the back of the cage three times in addition to his two assists.

"[Granger] is a very skilled player who has earned his position," coach Mike Daly said. "[Clarke] is on the same level as Bryan Griffin -- he is a tireless worker, a lacrosse junkie, and an unbelievably competitive kid."

Though many players stood out throughout the game, the first quarter belonged to Griffin as Tufts jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. The reigning New England player of the year notched his first goal and assisted on two others in the opening 11 minutes.

"Bryan is not exactly sneaking up on anyone," Daly said. "He is one of the most competitive and toughest kids in the program and his success is a result."

Tufts scored a total of five goals in the first fifteen minutes as the Bantams managed to sneak just one ball past junior goalie Luke Chicco. Trinity kept itself alive in the second quarter with three goals to answer Tufts' own three tallies.

The two league foes went into the halftime intermission with Tufts up 8-4.

When asked what the team does at half time to regroup and prepare for a successful second 30 minutes, Daly pointed to his players and an emphasis on the little things.

"We have great leaders who will not allow our team to get complacent," Daly said. "Half-time pep talks are overrated, the coaches simply remind our players of what we have done to get us to that point and encourage them to get back to our fundamentals."

The four goal gap between the teams at the half time break would not last long, however, as Tufts lit up Sheppard Field in the third quarter, netting six goals. The Jumbos have been strong after halftime all season, scoring 40 of their 70 season goals after the break. Of these, 23 have been scored in the third quarter.

The Jumbos took a 14-5 lead into the fourth quarter and Chicco blanked the Bantams in the final fifteen minutes and finished the day with ten saves.

Tufts' underclassmen scored the bulk of the goals in Saturday's match-up. Sophomores Ariel Rudolph and Mike O'Brien chipped in for two scores while classmen Tim Flanagan and Michael Hughes each netted one as well. Freshman Mark Warner recorded his eighth assist of the season to complete the Jumbos' offensive assault.

Possession time and battles on the ground also helped the Jumbos on Saturday. Senior tri-captain Matt Malatesta used his face-off expertise to the team's advantage and a pre-game drill focusing on ground balls also helped the Jumbos keep possession and dominate the clock.

The win was the Jumbos' third consecutive victory over Trinity. Last year, Tufts held off the Bantams 8-5 at home following an 11-5 victory on the road in 2002.

The Jumbos will return home this Wednesday in their second league game of the season, this time against Bowdoin. In much the same way as with Trinity, Tufts has taken the last two match-ups from the Polar Bears with a 9-5 victory in 2003, and a 10-8 win two years ago. However, Bowdoin's squad is 6-0 so far this season.

"Bowdoin is ranked number 11 in the country," Daly said. "They will not be impressed with our Trinity win. We must continue to play our game consistently and with the passion and energy needed to compete at the highest level."