On Saturday, the men's lacrosse team defeated Colby 24-9 at home to notch a win in the first round of the NESCAC tournament. Junior attackmen Cole Bailey and Chris Schoenhut both had impressive stat lines, combining for 16 points, with five and seven goals respectively. The game was much more than a two-man effort, however, as a total of 13 Jumbos recorded points.
Tufts entered Saturday riding a six-game winning streak to end the regular season, finishing with a 14-2 record, two wins better than the team's 11-4 record in 2013.
The Mules struck first, scoring after just 34 seconds on a goal from freshman attackman Austin Sayre. The Jumbos quickly responded as Schoenhut and senior tri-captain Beau Wood each scored a goal apiece. Sayre scored again to tie the game at two with 12 minutes left in the first, but a goal from Bailey only one minute later gave Tufts a lead it would not relinquish.
Bailey's goal sparked a surge from the Jumbos, as they finished the quarter on a 7-1 run. Tufts outshot Colby 22-11 in the quarter and scooped 10 more groundballs than its opponent. Schoenhut had four goals in the quarter, while both Bailey and Wood had two.
Tufts continued to dominate through the second period, scoring the first five goals to increase its lead to 12. Two more Colby goals were followed by a goal from Bailey with only 27 seconds left in the half, giving Tufts a 16-5 lead heading into the intermission. Tufts controlled the first half in most respects, outshooting Colby 37-24 and committing six less turnovers.
The Jumbos got off to a hot start again in the third quarter, scoring three more goals in the first seven minutes. Despite the large deficit, the Mules continued to battle back, scoring three goals of their own to end the third trailing by eight goals, 19-8. The Mules played their best in the third quarter, outshooting the Jumbos 18-10 and scooping five more groundballs than the home team.
In the end, Colby was unable to handle Tufts, as the Jumbos scored five straight goals to start the fourth quarter and solidify its victory. Freshman midfielder Zach Richman scored two goals and fellow freshman attackman Austin Carbone scored a goal and recorded an assist. A goal from Colby with 50 seconds left in regulation ended the scoring, bringing the final tally to 24-9.
With his seven goals, Schoenhut has a total of 66 on the season, which ties the Tufts record set in 2011 by current Tufts assistant coach Sean Kirwan (LA '12).
Tufts' offense continues to be its calling card, as the team has scored 17 or more goals in each of its last seven games, and more than 20 goals eight times this season. Tufts remains the top-scoring offense in the nation with 18.71 goals per game.
The Jumbos host the Williams Ephs on May 3 in the NESCAC semifinals, and will look to avenge a 15-8 loss earlier this season.
Men's Lacrosse | Tufts' offense overpowers Colby in NESCAC quarterfinals
