The men's lacrosse team bounced back from a staggering six-point loss to Bowdoin on Friday by thrashing Conn. College 12-6 in the opening round of the NESCAC Tournament yesterday afternoon. The Jumbos scored six goals late in the third quarter to defeat the Camels and advance to next Saturday's semifinals.
Senior attackmen Ryan Molloy and D.J. Hessler, both quad-captains, came up unexpectedly big in yesterday's game after an embarrassing 15-9 loss to the Polar Bears on Friday. Molloy recorded two goals and four assists while Hessler, battling through a tweaked ankle, finished the afternoon with a hat trick and an assist.
"Coming off of the loss, we just focused on us," Molloy said. "Getting better one ground ball at a time. The game against Bowdoin was demoralizing, embarrassing; we knew we could play better and [Sunday] we came out and we did."
Freshman goalie Patton Watkins posted 13 saves, while Tufts' defense shut out the Camels' leading scorer, senior midfielder Mark Mangano, who finished the game with seven shots but no points. The Jumbos also frustrated the Camels' five other leading scorers, holding each to a single point.
"We'd already played these guys once, so we understood what they do and the way they play," sophomore defenseman Sam Gardner said. "Today we focused on playing solid team defense instead of any particular assignments. We just had to play our game: slide early and don't try anything special."
After the Camels jumped out to a 1-0 lead, Tufts responded with three straight scores, and a seemingly impenetrable Tufts defense allowed Conn. only one more goal in the half, heading into the second period up 4-2.
"We're used to playing a lot of defense because of the fast-paced game we play on attack," sophomore defensive midfielder Sam Diss said. "So we're prepared to take five, six minutes on defense at a time, whatever we need to make a stand. We weren't fazed at all when Conn. had those types of possessions because we knew that as long as we played as a unit and forced outside shots, we'd be fine."
After sophomore midfielder Mike Giambanco brought the Camels within one in the third quarter, Molloy took over with two assists and two goals to close out the period and spark a 6-0 Jumbos run that extended halfway into the final quarter.
"We approach every game with the mentality that it's sixty minutes," Molloy said. "The first thirty minutes they gave us their knockout punch, but we knew that if we started winning face-offs and putting some in the net that we could slow the game down and really take it to them."
Tufts dominated midfield play and secured 33 groundballs to the Camels' 20, while junior midfielder Nick Rhoads controlled eight groundballs and won 13 of 22 face-offs for the Jumbos.
"I think our defensive middies really stepped up big and kept Conn. down the alleys all day," Diss said. "We have a great attacking unit — they've played together the last two years — so as long as we can get them the ball in a hurry they can make something happen."
Conn. College junior goalie John Lenehan posted 12 saves, but his efforts could not suppress a Jumbos attacking unit eager to redeem itself from Friday's single-digit performance — one of only three this season.
"Our offense really picked it up in the second half and started to put the dagger in them," Gardner said. "It was that simple. They sealed the deal for us today."
On Friday, the Jumbos traveled to Bowdoin for their final regular-season game and suffered their first conference loss since April 17, 2010. Junior attackman Sean Kirwan led the Jumbos with five goals, but the team as a whole shot 9-for-36 and allowed a season-high 15 goals, the team's biggest defensive breakdown since March 2008.
"Against Bowdoin, we just let their middies, who were big and athletic, get top-side all day and just cut across the middle of the field," Diss said. "Coming off that game, we knew that was something we had to work on. We had a light practice Saturday, and we talked about the game and really focused on what we had to do mentally to come back for [Conn.]."
With yesterday's win, Tufts earned itself another shot at the Polar Bears, this time in the NESCAC Semifinals on Saturday at noon on Bello Field.
"We're just glad to have earned another week," Molloy said. "We're back out here for seven more days, and we're going to keep grinding and playing our game."
