There may be a "D" for defense next to Alec Bialosky's name on the 2011 men's lacrosse roster, but on Saturday the former attackman−turned−longstick midfielder proved that he can still score.
The senior quad−captain had four goals and an assist to lift national No. 1 Tufts (9−0, 6−0 NESCAC) to an 18−10 victory over No. 14 Trinity. The Jumbos took it to the formerly undefeated Bantams, capturing sole possession of the NESCAC lead.
"Big games like that are the reason that we play," senior quad−captain attackman Ryan Molloy said. "We have the mentality that the bigger the game, the simpler it is. We knew we just had to stick to the fundamentals and that if we kept that mindset, we'd be fine."
After sophomore midfielder Sam Diss' unassisted goal gave the Jumbos the first lead of the contest, the two squads traded points, battling to a 3−3 tie. Junior midfielder Will Duryea secured Tufts' go−ahead score with 6:26 remaining in the first quarter, and the Jumbos did not concede the lead for the remainder of the game.
Although Trinity came to within one in the middle of the second quarter, Tufts glided into halftime on a four−goal run, leading the Bantams 10−5 at intermission. But the hosts refused to go down without a fight and cut the lead to 12−10 going into the fourth period.
In the late stages, however, the Jumbos took over, silencing Trinity's top scorers and extending their two−goal margin to eight.
Bialosky kicked off scoring in the final period, notching his third goal of the game less than a minute into the quarter to stop the bleeding. Senior quad−captain midfielder Matt Witko followed suit, while the third goal of the day for junior midfielder Kevin McCormick put the Jumbos up 15−10.
Freshman Patton Watkins made 18 saves on the day and posted a fourth quarter shutout. Watkins has now started three straight games for the Jumbos after taking the place of junior Steve Foglietta. Over that span he has averaged just over 17 saves a game while only allowing just under nine goals per contest.
"Patton has been playing great all season," Bialosky said. "He's developing poise as the season wears on and has really taken over. He's becoming the general, which is what you want from your goalie, and it's pretty impressive that, as a freshman, he really doesn't seem to get rattled even when he sees a lot of shots."
The Tufts defense held a very capable Trinity attack unit to 10 points. The Bantams, who scored in double digits in five of their previous eight games, were unable to get much past Watkins and a young defensive unit. Bialosky proved his worth on both ends of the field, collecting a team−high five groundballs while fueling the Jumbos' transition game.
"It's no secret that we play in transition, and Alec is as good with the ball as any of our offensive middies," Molloy said. "If a team's going to play us where they're not going to slide from our attack, other players are going to step up. Alec had a monster game, and that just shows how hard of a worker he is. He doesn't give up, and it paid off."
Sophomore attackman Jeff Hebert, the Bantams' leading scorer, was held to one assist in Trinity's losing effort. The Tufts defense also slowed high−scoring sophomore midfielder Nick Shaheen and sophomore attackman Rob Nogueras, who contributed only two points each. Nogueras took 11 shots in his one−goal performance, and his fruitless efforts demonstrated the Bantams' offensive frustrations in the face of a solid Tufts defensive effort.
But Trinity's defense — which had held all but one previous opponent below 10 points — had no answer for Tufts' depth. While Bialosky and McCormick had five and four points, respectively, eight other Jumbos also scored in what turned out to be a balanced scoring assault.
"With our depth, it's difficult for other teams to come up with a defensive gameplan," Bialosky said. "If you focus on taking Molloy and D.J. [Hessler] out of it, then the midfielders are going to go crazy, and if you slide really early, then we're going to score a ton of crease goals."
Junior goalie Peter Johnson made 18 saves for Trinity, but he could not do enough against a constant stream of high−quality efforts.
"We knew going in that Trinity had a great goalie and that he was going to make great saves," Molloy said. "We just had to continue to get the ball in front of the cage and take shots. Going into the fourth quarter, we just knew that if we kept getting the best shots of that, we'd eventually be able to put them in the net."
Tufts will travel to Endicott tomorrow night to take on its non−conference rivals. These two squads last met in the 2010 NCAA tournament, with the Jumbos cruising to a 21−8 victory.
