The road to a conference title for the Tufts men's lacrosse team got even clearer Tuesday after an 11-9 win over the Amherst Lord Jeffs on Tuesday. The Jumbos only need to win at home Saturday against Middlebury to secure the league crown.
The Lord Jeffs didn't just roll over for Tufts, however. After jumping out to a 3-1 lead, Amherst added four more goals in the second quarter to head into halftime up 7-5. But the veteran leadership helped steady the ship and turn things around for the Jumbos in the second frame.
"Junior [midfielder] Tucker Merrigan gave an excellent speech at halftime, and that riled us up," senior defenseman Alex Bezdek said. "The whole team reacted accordingly. We understood the gravity of the situation and understood that we should be worried about our own team, our own huddle. We didn't worry about who we were playing or what they were going to throw at us ... That eventually led us to the victory."
Indeed, the squad responded, storming back with five unanswered goals to open the second half. Junior midfielder Alex Burnes led the attack, notching two tallies on the drive. Meanwhile, senior Michael Ludwig and senior tri-captain Mark Warner each contributed a goal and an assist.
"We were doing so well early on in the game, our shots just were not falling," coach Mike Daly wrote in an e-mail to the Daily. "As in so many games this year, our poise and our confidence allowed us to hang in there and keep grinding. In the third and fourth quarters, our shots were falling and we just kept coming at them and attacking them. As always, our defense made some great plays to get the offense going and our transition offense, as it has all year, was fantastic."
Amherst senior tri-captain Derek Cherney assisted on a goal, in addition to recording one of his own with minutes left to play, but his effort was insufficient. Warner added a second insurance goal with 11 seconds remaining to clinch the victory. The team saw a balanced offensive assault, as nine different players found the back of the net.
"This year, so many guys have come into their own, and so many guys are contributing on offense, even guys who primarily play defense," Bezdek said. "It speaks more to how this team has evolved, into a fuller unit, and you have a lot more confidence in all the players on the field."
The win pushed the Jumbos to an 11-2 record (7-1 NESCAC). A win on Saturday against Middlebury will give the team its first ever regular season conference title, home field advantage in the NESCAC Tournament and a first-round bye. If the Jumbos lose, they will have to hope Wesleyan, with whom they are currently tied atop the NESCAC standings, falls to 2-5 Bates on Saturday.
"Middlebury is another league member that we have respect for their players and their coaches," Daly said. "I feel so strongly in our team and our guys that if we keep playing with maximum effort, we will be fine. I love working with our guys and I know they will respond on Saturday. It is only huge because it is the next game and Middlebury is the only team in the country right now who can hurt us."
A win against Middlebury would also be sweet revenge for the Jumbos, who lost to the Panthers during the third overtime of last year's NESCAC semifinals, the longest game in conference tournament history.
"Guys who remember last year certainly remember the pain of losing to Middlebury in particular," Bezdek said. "But certainly we won't let those emotions get the best of us in terms of doing more than we can. We just want to stick to our team defense, our team offense and our team fundamentals."
Erica Bailey contributed reporting to this article.
