The No. 20 Jumbos ended up on the wrong end of the lowest-scoring Tufts men's lacrosse game since 1975, as Tufts suffered a tough 4-3 loss to Wesleyan, ranked 11th the nation.
The game featured arguably the two best goalies in the league, and the score reflected it. Wesleyan junior Charlie Congleton leads the league in goals against average (6.18), save percentage (.718), and saves per game average (14.08). And nipping at his heels in the stat box was Tufts freshman Matt Harrigan, second in the league in saves (12.08), third in goals against (7.88) and fourth in save percentages (.602).
The seven total goals, including none in the final 25 minutes, matched the total goals scored in the 5-2 loss that came more than three decades ago - also against the Cardinals.
"It was an even game, except today they made more plays," coach Mike Daly said. "They are a great team and they have a great goalie. They're a top team in the nation."
The game was as close on the field as it looked on the scoreboard, and the even-possession play makes the loss a difficult one to swallow for the Jumbos. Both goalies played strong in net, facing an equal 31 shots, with Congleton making 13 saves and Harrigan stepping in front of 10. But it was Wesleyan's game to win, as the Cardinals put the first and last goal in net.
Senior co-captain Rory Doucette credited the Wesleyan defense with slowing down the Jumbos' offensive game and keeping the tempo down.
"Their zone was very time-consuming," Doucette said. "Generally when teams play in a zone, the game will be low scoring. A lot of our own possession time was taken up trying to break their zone."
Both teams came out strong, but Wesleyan was able to exploit a stumble on Tufts' defensive end with a score from sophomore Grayson Connors at the five-minute mark. The Jumbo offense picked up the slack and junior Chris Connelly scored off of a feed from senior Casey D'Annolfo at 7:43 in the second quarter to tie the game up.
"The first goal [from Wesleyan] was because we didn't match up on defense, but it was only one goal and we answered soon after," Daly said. "We knew it was going to be a great game."
With 1:06 left in the half, Connors made a pass to freshman Russell Follansbee, wide open at the top of the crease, for a score to put the Cardinals up.
With 30 seconds to go in the half, Harrigan made a stellar Hail Mary pass past the fifty to sophomore attacker Connor Ginsberg. Ginsberg passed it off to junior attacker Mark Warner, who passed back to Ginsberg for a score with six seconds remaining in the half, tying the game up.
"There wasn't much time left and I wanted to get down the field and I knew our offense was good enough," Harrigan said. "It just so happened that it landed in Connor's stick and he was able to get it in the goal."
"At the half we were right on course," Daly said. "We were just going to stick to the game plan. We had no need to panic."
Freshman Clem McNally, the defending NESCAC Player of the Week, broke the tie at 12:33 in the third quarter with a one-touch shot from an over-the-goal pass from Ginsberg. The Wesleyan offense tied it up again at 3-3 as senior Mike Vitulano scored off a pass from junior Mike Hines.
Sophomore Bobby Goulding pushed Doucette aside in the face-off, gaining possession for Wesleyan and finding sophomore Alexander Kaufman. He found an opening, and scored an unassisted shot just 15 seconds after Vitulano's goal, putting the Cardinal's up 4-3.
The remainder of the third and beginning of fourth quarter brought lengthy periods of Cardinal possession. The Tufts defense of junior Alex Bezdek, senior Tim Flanagan, senior Ave Cook, and junior Wiley Dornseif kept the middle tight, while Harrigan defended all eight Wesleyan shots.
"I was real happy with the full 60 minutes the defense played," Daly said.
The Jumbos picked up 21 ground balls to the Cardinals' 30, missing some opportunities at possession and potentially, extra shots on goal.
"It was a combination of little things," Daly said about the loss.
With 4:02 left in the game and the ball in Tufts sticks, Daly called a time out to settle the team down. The offense responded, pounding Congleton with shots, but none were good enough to even the score, and Wesleyan was able to gain possession for the remainder of the quarter to come out with a victory.
Tufts now drops to 4-4 in NESCAC (9-5 overall), placing them fifth in the conference. Wesleyan is tied with Bowdoin for second at 6-2 in NESCAC (11-2 overall).
While the Jumbos have secured a spot in the conference playoffs, they are still fighting for home-field advantage as they take on Conn. College, which sits below Tufts at sixth in the conference.
"We're not even thinking of the playoffs now," Daly said. "It's just one day at a time, as we will be preparing for Saturday's game versus Conn."
