Coming into Saturday's game against No. 16 Wesleyan (6-2, 2-2 NESCAC), there was much speculation in the lacrosse community that this could be the game in which No. 1 Tufts (7-0, 4-0 NESCAC) would finally fall. Instead, the Jumbos proved once again that they are deserving of staying at the top of the rankings.
After a 17-second, three-goal Jumbo run in the first quarter broke a 1-1 tie, the Cardinals never again came close to erasing the deficit. In notching their 17th straight win with a 15-8 victory, Tufts once again looked clean but aggressive — a far cry from its performance just days earlier against Western New England.
"Definitely having a couple days off helped," said junior attackman Sean Kirwan, who tallied a hat trick against the Cardinals. "We just played three games in six days and that was pretty taxing. But I think the biggest thing was that we really focused on dominating that third quarter because that's something we really haven't been able to do this season. … We knew we could really take it to these guys — it would just take a collective effort and a lot of focus."
The Jumbos' game plan undoubtedly paid off. Not only did they take the third quarter by a resounding margin of 5-1, but the defense prevented the Cardinals from putting together consecutive goals until the game was well in hand and the starters had long since been taken out. This allowed Tufts to keep the momentum throughout.
The game included goals from nine different Jumbos and 15 saves from freshman goalie Patton Watkins, who was making his first collegiate start. Though Tufts finished with only a slight 49-42 shot advantage and a 33-32 edge in ground balls, junior midfielder Nick Rhoads was dominant in the face-off circle, controlling 15-of-21 after losing the first three.
The defense was also efficient in the clearing game. Despite the lack of experience among its young players, the defense managed to get the ball out of its zone 25 of 29 times. It also excelled at keeping the area in front of the goal tightly defended, taking away Wesleyan's ability to play the cutting-style game they are used to.
The Cardinals were rattled early and with good reason. After Wesleyan senior midfielder Adam Michael tied the game at one with a sizzling long shot less than five minutes into the first quarter, the Jumbos caught the Cardinals on their heels and, after a whirlwind 17 seconds, the Jumbos had built a 4-1 lead. Twice during the stretch, a face-off violation was called on junior midfielder Joe Del Visco, and as he attempted to get off the field, Rhoads stuck with the play, turning the situation into a man-advantage for Tufts.
The streak, which included both a goal and assist from senior quad-captain longstick midfielder Alec Bialosky off the wing, seemed to suck the life from Wesleyan, which stumbled to halftime down 9-4. But unlike in other matchups this season when Tufts has let teams back into games, the Jumbos did not make the mistake of taking their foot off the pedal in this one.
"Our mentality is always sixty minutes, not just three quarters," Watkins said. "So at halftime, everyone was stressing that there's still a lot of game left, so we can't let up now."
Coming out of the half, the Jumbos did anything but let up. They opened the third period with another three-goal run and ended with a goal by Kirwan, who received a pass from senior quad-captain attackman Ryan Molloy and put it away, while balancing on the edge of the crease with just 0.5 seconds to play.
After a man-up goal from sophomore Sam Diss, the score sat at 15-5 one minute into the fourth. Tufts began to tap into its reserves, who continued to fend off Wesleyan. The Cardinals' three goals to finish the game meant little, as the Jumbos celebrated another conference blowout.
"I just think that our poles really held it down," Watkins said of the defense. "They did a great job keeping the shooters on the perimeter and keeping away all the inside shots."
The defense looked arguably better than ever on Saturday, an important step for such a young unit. It will get another chance to test itself on its home field Tuesday as Tufts host Bates (4-4, 1-3 NESCAC) at 7 p.m. Just four days later, Tufts will trek down to Connecticut for a key matchup with No. 15 Trinity, the only other undefeated team in the NESCAC.
"The key is doing nothing different," Kirwan said. "We know what kind of defense we run, and we just have to stick to it … just applying the basic fundamentals and communication."
