A definitive 19–9 win against Connecticut College in the season opener saw No. 2 Tufts men’s lacrosse continue its amazing form from last season. Any fear that the departure of last season’s star offensive threats would hurt the Jumbos offensively was squashed just three minutes into the game when junior attacker Max Ettinghausen opened the scoring. Although Conn. College’s senior midfielder Bobby Chang tied the game minutes later, Tufts took control from there.
Netting an impressive 19 goals off 58 shots, the Jumbos were led by Ettinghausen and sophomore midfielder Jack Regnery with five goals apiece, with seven more Jumbos getting on the scoreboard. Ettinghausen set a new personal best with 6 points (five goals, one assist), and sophomore midfielder Brooks Hauser hit a new career best, tallying 5 points (three goals, two assists). In an electronic message to the Daily, sophomore long-stick midfielder Ben Frisoli commented on the team’s attacking line this year.
“Our offense has a completely new look to it and I thought all three of [our attackers] looked great for their first starts,” Frisoli wrote.
This confidence in the attacking line is crucial as the season gets underway.
On top of the impressive offensive display, the defense managed to hold off a persistent Conn. College, allowing just nine goals on 46 shots. Frisoli also caused two turnovers and scooped four ground balls, while junior Michael Ayers caused one turnover and scooped five ground balls. Senior goalkeeper Connor Garzone stopped 12 shots while allowing just four goals in 45 minutes of action.
“Garzone definitely bailed us out a couple of times with a few big saves,” Frisoli wrote.
Junior goalie Ben Friedman even came off the bench in the fourth quarter, making five saves. Credit to Conn.’s junior attacker Aidan McAvoy, who got 4 points on two goals and two assists, and Chang, who also finished with two goals for the Camels. Yet, their efforts could not propel the Camels past the solid defensive display that helped the Jumbos get their win.
The Jumbos dominated the face-off “X,” with junior forward Parker Merrill going 11-for-12 and sophomore midfielder Victor Salcedeo going 8-for-11 and scoring once. Sophomore midfielder Erik Helgeson came off the bench to go 4-for-5 as well.
“Our face-off guys played very well going 75% [from the ‘X’],” Frisoli wrote.
This statistic demonstrates just how important possession from a face-off is.
As the Jumbos wait to see if they can achieve the same type of success they saw last year — not losing a single game until the national championship when they fell to No. 2 Salisbury University — this season opener sends a message that the men’s lacrosse team is ready for another bid at the NESCAC and NCAA Championship. This formidable team will be fun to watch as the season gets underway and will surely be a fearful opponent for any team they face. Frisoli wrote about how they can find ways to win in the toughest conference in Division III.
“It’s going to be a battle, but if we take care of the little things and focus on ourselves we will definitely have success,” Frisoli wrote. “I know we have all the skill and the players we need to win a national championship. It’s just about how bad we want it.”
