The weekend we've been waiting for all season is finally here.
In just two days, the men's lacrosse NESCAC Tournament will begin, with national No. 3 Tufts as the top seed for the first time in program history. But the Jumbos probably haven't given too much thought to Sunday's rematch with Conn. College, the squad that held them to just six goals in a one-point victory on April 16. That's because tonight Tufts will hit the road for its regular-season finale against Bowdoin.
"The past few weeks, we've been focused a lot on competitions," freshman defenseman Dan Alles said. "I know we've clinched the No. 1 seed, but no one wants to go down to Bowdoin. We want that perfect [NESCAC] record, and we refuse to lose. Obviously, everyone's excited about playoffs, but our heads are in this game right now."
Almost exactly one year ago, on April 30, 2010, the Polar Bears came to Bello Field and pushed the game down to the wire. Bowdoin played Tufts to a 13-13 tie at the end of regulation after scoring in the last minute, but then-sophomore midfielder Kevin McCormick answered in overtime with the unassisted game winner.
This year, with Bowdoin at just 6-6 on the season and 3-5 in the NESCAC, a photo finish is not what the Jumbos (12-1, 8-0 NESCAC) want.
Bowdoin specializes in close games. This season, the Polar Bears have not won or lost by more than four goals, with the exception of a 21-5 demolition of non-league Nazareth. And they are currently on a hot streak, having won their past three games by one, two and one goals, respectively. The most important victory in that mix: a 13-12 win over No. 16 Endicott, the only team to beat Tufts this season.
The up-and-down Polar Bears are undoubtedly up, but so are the Jumbos. Tufts is currently riding a three-game win streak since the Gulls knocked it out of the country's top spot, and in the last two games, the Jumbos have looked in top form. This past Saturday, the team beat No. 11 Middlebury on the road for the first time in coach Mike Daly's tenure and followed that up with a 15-6 dismantling of Babson on Monday.
Tufts may be favored against Bowdoin, but the Jumbos will need to be defensively solid out of the gate and opportunistic with their scoring to avoid an exhausting emotional battle just two days before the NESCAC quarterfinal against the Camels.
"I don't think anything really changes," Alles said. "We always have the same game plan — always looking forward to the next play, the next ground ball. We can't dwell on anything that just happened … even if a goal was just scored."
Alles was confident that with this recipe, the Jumbos should take the match.
"Coach Daly always says that lacrosse is a game of streaks and they're going to get some punches, but we're going to get ours," he said. "We'll be able to hold them when it counts."
This game is undoubtedly dangerous, because Bowdoin can be just as offensively productive as Tufts. The Polar Bears currently average 10.92 goals per game and another early deficit like the Jumbos got themselves into against Middlebury could give Bowdoin's attack too much breathing room.
If Bowdoin goes man-down at any point tonight, it will be good news for Tufts. The Polar Bears rank last in the conference in penalty killing, stopping their opponents only 65.9 percent of the time. The Jumbos, on the other hand, lead the league with a 43.9 man-up scoring percentage. Too many minutes in the box could spell disaster for Bowdoin.
"Penalties are big points in any game," senior quad-captain midfielder Matt Witko said. "We expect to score on every one of them. We don't necessarily have a plan for them, but we plan on moving the ball and attacking. We're not settling for one more pass or just shots."
The Polar Bears will also have to avoid putting the ball on the ground. Bowdoin is second-worst in the NESCAC in turnovers with an average of just over 13 per game and, with the Jumbos' renewed focus on winning every ground ball, Tufts could come away with some more unexpected possessions.
"We're not going to be any more aggressive than we already are, but when the ball goes down, we're going to get in there and scrap for it," Alles said. "Ground balls are so important, and if you win that battle, it's pretty hard to lose the game."
Finally, and arguably most importantly, the combination of Tufts' league-leading shooting percentage (32.7) and Bowdoin's second-worst save percentage (51.2) amount to another Tufts advantage. Though Tufts' defensive unit has looked better than ever this season, Bowdoin's defense and goalkeeping trio of seniors Jake McCampbell and Robert Burkhardt and sophomore Michael Bottinelli has struggled to the tune of a league-worst 9.71 goals-per-game average.
"We're just looking to come out to the game aggressive," Witko said. "We don't want to let them take the game to us; we want to take the game to them. We look to attack early … because if you can go up two goals early in the game, it's a real advantage."
But all those edges will mean little unless Tufts' defense can rise to the challenge on Bowdoin's field in front of its nighttime home crowd. The Polar Bears may have exploitable holes in their game, but if their defense allows them to gain control of the pace, their attack will only get harder to stop.
Yet the Jumbos aren't worrying too much about specifics. It seems the team is just excited for the chance to end the season on a high note under the Friday night lights.
"Bowdoin is definitely a great place to play," Witko said. "They have a great environment; they have a bunch of fans there, and it's a lot of fun. … We definitely expect a lot from this game, but going into the playoffs, it's important to get a win right before and get that confidence up and keep our swagger going."
