Over the course of a busy spring break, the men's lacrosse team traveled through New Jersey, below the Mason?Dixon line and then back again in a nine?day tour that included one NESCAC contest and three non?conference challenges against ranked opponents.
The Jumbos went 3?1, moving to 5?1 overall and a perfect 3?0 in the conference, where they currently stand in a three?way tie with Amherst and Trinity. A loss to then? No. 10 Stevenson University, however, was enough to drop Tufts from No. 2 to No. 6 in the nation in the most recent USILA Coaches poll.
The break began with a 14?12 St. Patrick's Day victory against No. 4 Stevens Institute of Technology. The Jumbos controlled the game despite trailing the host Ducks in several statistical categories. Senior midfielder Nick Rhoads continued his sensational season - which now includes a NESCAC co?Player of the Week award - by winning 17 of 29 faceoffs, while sophomore goalkeeper Patton Watkins bolstered the Jumbos between the pipes with 11 saves.
"My wing guys have been doing a great job this season boxing out and simple just keeping the other teams wing guys off of me and letting me beat the other team's faceoff guy," Rhoads said. "The possessions have been important because it breaks down defenses. After a series of wins they become exhausted and start to break down mentally, and we take advantage."
The Jumbos were outshot 42?36, but Tufts converted a higher percentage of its looks, forcing Stevens to pull starting keeper Eric Yando in favor of Matthew Deiner early in the final quarter. Freshman Cole Bailey and sophomore Beau Wood paced the Jumbos with six and five points, respectively, while Wood's third straight five?point performance earned him a NESCAC Player of the Week nod early last week.
"We got a lot of pressure on the ball and our defense did a great job making sure no one was open, and that caused a lot of turnovers," junior attackman Geoff Sheasby said. "On offense we let the defense dictate who scored. We dodged hard downhill, bumped the ball to X, and Cole did a great job of finding the open guys."
From Hoboken, N.J., the Jumbos traveled to Maryland, where they spent two days preparing to face Stevenson. On Tuesday, the Jumbos faced stiff competition from a well?balanced Mustangs squad, eventually falling 9?5.
Stevenson's Pat Candon scored unassisted five minutes into the contest to give the Mustangs the early lead, and they never looked back. The Jumbos managed to tie the game twice in the first quarter, but never led, and despite a solid defensive effort they struggled to piece together productive possessions for the first time this season. Wood was the Jumbos' only multi?point scorer, and he finished with just two goals.
As senior co?captain attackman Sean Kirwan continued to sit out with a sprained ankle, Stevenson's defense tirelessly turned back the Tufts tide, frustrating the Jumbos' youthful scoring unit and forcing errant shots that failed to put real pressure on goalkeeper Ian Bolland.
The Jumbos won the faceoff battle and dominated the ground ball game, but for a team that generally uses very little possession time, Tufts failed to capitalize on a surprisingly overwhelming advantage in that department.
"Stevenson's defense did a great job putting pressure on us and we didn't execute as well as we would have liked to," Sheasby said. "The loss was extremely frustrating, but it was a good chance to see the things we need to work on and get better at."
Junior defender Kyle Holechek caused six Jumbos turnovers and teammate Chris Dashiell dished out three assists in a balanced scoring campaign during which six different Mustangs lit up the scoreboard.
"Playing four games, when we finish one game there is no time to really think about it because we have to move on to the next one," Wood said. "We try our best not to look back on previous games, but we definitely wanted to get back to playing Tufts lacrosse."
The Jumbos returned home to Bello Field and did just that, dominating Colby in a 9?4 victory. Tufts outshot the Mules 47?29, and converted on all 17 of its clears. Again, Rhoads played exceptionally, winning 13 of 17 faceoffs, as the absence of graduated Mule Craig Bunker, who secured 18 of 26 from the X in last year's contest, proved costly for Colby.
Tufts jumped out to a 4?0 lead with Wood and classmate Peter Bowers each chipping in a goal. Seniors Kevin McCormick and Geordie Schafer helped Tufts build a comfortable cushion midway through the second quarter.
"Transition is a big part of our game," Sheasby said. "We like to push the ball in all situations, and the strong defensive play has allowed us to really fly downfield. Nick's faceoff wins certainly help a ton as well. The more he wins, the more opportunities we have to score."
Despite a tally from Colby midfielder Bjorn Knutson with five minutes remaining in the opening half, Tufts maintained its composure and burst out of the break with three more goals, including two from senior midfielder Ben Saperstein.
The Jumbos entered the final stanza up 7?2, and the two teams traded goals in the fourth quarter. Bailey increased the Tufts lead with a helper from Wood, and minutes later Wood finished a goal of his own past sophomore keeper Peter Reiley.
Bailey paced the Jumbos with four points, while eight Jumbos got on the scoreboard and four had multi?point performances. Tufts' defense also locked down, holding Colby's top three scorers - juniors Ian Deveau, John Jennings and Greg McKillop - to a single point. Last year, that trio put up 11 points on the same defensive unit.
"Our defense played aggressively and very smart," Sheasby said. "They had great fundamentals and were able to really disrupt the Colby offense. They've been playing great lately, and it all stems back to a focus on fundamentals and communication."
"[They've] has always been our anchor," Wood added. "Because our offense plays at such a high pace, we always end up playing defense for so much of the game."
The victory over Colby not only proved important in the NESCAC standings, but also allowed the Jumbos to right the ship after the disappointing trip to Maryland. Two days later, the Jumbos traveled to Springfield, Mass., for a matchup with No. 19 Western New England. Coach Mike Daly's squad notched a 13?9 win over the Golden Bears, with the help of a pair of four?point performances from Wood and McCormick and a stellar 20?for?25 performance by Rhoads at the X.
The Jumbos and Golden Bears traded tallies in the opening minutes, and with goals from senior midfielders Liam Bokanovich and Patrick White, Western New England established a 5?3 lead with three and a half minutes remaining in the opening half.
But Tufts responded by piecing together a 9?1 run to go ahead 12?6. Wood and McCormick combined for five goals during the run, while Bailey and Schafer each scored and freshman Chris Schoenhut netted his first collegiate goal.
In the fourth quarter, Western New England outscored Tufts 3?1, but the Jumbos had more than enough insurance to hold on. Wood capped off the week with his fourth goal of the day, an extra man goal on a helper from senior Jordan Korinis. The Jumbos converted three extra man opportunities Sunday, and demonstrated the ability to find the open man, something they struggled with against Stevenson.
"Our goals never change from game to game even following a loss and the Colby game showed that when we play Tufts lacrosse and don't worry about any kinds of distractions, the end result is a great team victory," Wood said. "When we are consistently doing that and not worrying about the outside distractions, it is easy to get in a groove. I know it will carry into our upcoming games."
Tufts' next conference challenge will come against Trinity on Saturday. Both teams are undefeated in NESCAC competition, and this weekend's contest will break the three?way tie atop the conference standings.
"It was a long week of lacrosse but we love it and wouldn't have it any other way," Rhoads said. "I think we're always at full strength, and we have the mental toughness to push through. Trinity will be challenging and we just have to focus on getting that first faceoff, first possession, first shot and first goal. And then doing it again."
