Senior goalie Patton Watkins ran out the remaining seconds of regulation time in the No. 7 men's lacrosse team's home game against No. 18 Wesleyan on Saturday after making his final save of the day. It was a fitting way to close the 17-11 victory at Bello Field that officially locks the Jumbos in as the top seed in the NESCAC going into the postseason tournament that starts April 26.
Watkins matched his season-high of 17 saves against Wesleyan, making crucial point-blank stops as Wesleyan attempted to rally after halftime. Strong face-off and defensive play from Tufts, however, kept the team in control, despite being limited to fewer than 20 goals for the first time since its 18-13 home win against Endicott on April 8.
The game was close throughout the first period of play. Junior attackman Cole Bailey struck first for the Jumbos on an assist from sophomore attackman John Uppgren just under two minutes into the quarter. A minute and a half later, Wesleyan put itself on the board after a goal from senior midfielder Mike Giambanco. After another exchange of goals from both sides, Tufts pulled ahead 4-2 on unassisted goals from junior midfielders Peter Gill and attackman Chris Schoenhut to maintain a slim lead.
Again, the two teams locked horns at the beginning of the second quarter, trading goals as Wesleyan narrowed the Tufts lead to just 6-5 at the 7:40 mark.
"We knew that we were going to have a dogfight as we always do against Wesleyan ... especially because we were battling for the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC tournament," senior tri-captain midfielder Beau Wood told the Daily in an email.
The Jumbos were able to grow their lead before halftime with a 4-0 run. Bailey and sophomore attackman Ben Andreycak each scored their second goals of the game before Schoenhut closed the half with back-to-back strikes to put the Jumbos up 10-5.
Though Tufts never relinquished its lead in the second half, Wesleyan did not give up. The Cardinals struck first in the first two minutes of the third quarter on a goal from sophomore attackman Lyle Mitchell. Two goals from senior midfielder Peter Bowers and Bailey's third and final goal of the game kept Tufts comfortably in charge, though Wesleyan added on three more goals by the end of the quarter.
For a Tufts squad that has been touted all year as an offensive powerhouse, the game against Wesleyan proved how strong play in every facet of the game contributes to Tufts' success.
"Even though we score a lot of goals with the style of offense we play, we also put a ton of pressure on our defense and goalie and Saturday was nothing different," Wood said. "They did a great job making stops when we needed them to. I would also say the entire face-off unit has done a great job all year taking at least some strain away from the defense by winning the 50-50 ground balls."
Tufts jumped on Wesleyan in the fourth quarter, netting the first three goals to take a 16-9 lead. Uppgren scored his second and third goals of the game with Wood's lone goal of the game coming between both of Uppgren's tallies. The Cardinals scored twice more in the final six minutes, but the Jumbos had the final say with an unassisted goal from sophomore midfielder Jake Gillespie with 45 seconds remaining in the game.
Uppgren and Bailey led the Jumbos with three goals and two assists apiece, while Giambanco lead Wesleyan with three goals and one assist. Sophomore midfielder Conor Helfrich continued his standout play in the face-off game, winning 20 of the 30 face-offs he took. The game was littered with 14 penalties from both conference rivals. The Jumbos converted on four of five extra-man opportunities, while the Cardinals were four for nine.
With the loss, Wesleyan takes the second seed in the conference, sitting at 10-4 overall and 7-2 in the NESCAC.
Though Tufts was the better top-to-bottom team this time, the team must look forward and continue improving as it could easily play Wesleyan again on the NESCAC Championship stage. Head coach Mike Daly reiterated the importance of the unity Tufts saw this game and will need to continue to be effective through the end of the regular season and into the start of the postseason.
"Every game requires a team effort, and each phase gains strength from each other," he told the Daily in an email. "The face-off unit was doing its job, the defense and goalie did their job and our offense did theirs. We had lapses in all phases at times and Wesleyan is a very good team. We certainly have some things to continue to get better at and we will."
Before Tufts begins its run for a fifth consecutive NESCAC title, it will play one more regular season game. Today the Jumbos take on the Bowdoin Polar Bears in a night contest at Bello Field that starts at 7 p.m. Though NESCAC and Div. III Championships are the ultimate goals, the Jumbos must stay focused on closing out conference play on a high note on Senior Day.
"Every game is as important as the next," Daly said. "We have a great opportunity Wednesday against a very talented Bowdoin team, and that is our next and only challenge. All of my focus is on Bowdoin. It will be our seniors' final regular season game on Bello [Field]. I am lucky and privileged to have coached these seniors and am so thankful for all their leadership, selflessness and dedication to the university and me."
