Tufts suffers first loss of season

The No. 1 men’s lacrosse team suffered its first defeat of the season at the hands of the Bates Bobcats on Tuesday.

After winning the first 10 games of their season, the Jumbos dropped to 10-1 and 6-1 within the NESCAC. The final score from Bello Field was 12-8 in what was the lowest-scoring game for the Jumbos so far this season.

With goals from senior midfielder Peter Gill, sophomore attack Austin Carbone and junior midfielder Garrett Clarke, the Jumbos led by a score of 3-2 after the first quarter.

From the tail end of the first through most of the third, however, Tufts was held scoreless for a span of more than 28 minutes. In that time frame, Bates scored six unanswered goals, jumping out to an 8-3 lead.

The Jumbos fought back to narrow the deficit, getting within two at 9-7 early in the fourth quarter, but the Bobcats were able to put the them away with three fourth-period goals after that.

The defeat snapped a 24-game winning streak for Tufts, including the 2014 regular season and postseason. The last time the team was lost over a year ago on April 1, 2014.

The Bobcats' offense got much of its production from a small portion of their team. Junior attack Jack Allard scored four goals and got an assist on 10 shots, while sophomore midfielder Charlie Fay found the back of the net five times on 10 shots of his own.

Meanwhile, Tufts' offense was largely stifled by the Bates defense and goaltending. Junior goaltender Joe Faria stopped more than half of the attempts on his net, tallying 11 saves on 19 shots.

"Bates is a league opponent and they are a hard working, well coached team," Tufts coach Mike Daly told the Daily in an email. "They deserved the win and they earned the win. I wouldn't want to take away from that [by] talking about us.”

For Tufts, Carbone and Gill were the only players to score more than one goal; both beat Bates’ Faria twice.

For the Jumbos, the game marked the return of senior co-captain attack Cole Bailey. After missing eight games due to injury, Bailey assisted on Gill’s game-opening goal just 38 seconds into play. While other individuals stepped up in his absence, Bailey's return is a positive sign for the team as it looks to move on following the defeat.

"Every player has the same challenge: to help our team win," Daly said. "That's the only statistic we measure. Cole is a hard working, tough guy that I think is a great reflection of our program. He is a leader and I am happy for him he's making progress. But it is and always [has] been a team game. And Cole gets that -- he's a team guy and wants team success."

On Saturday, the Jumbos topped the Wesleyan Cardinals by a score of 15-9.Gill, Clarke and junior attack John Uppgren each tallied three goals in the game. Uppgren added five assists, while Carbone and junior midfielder Kyle Howard-Johnson each scored twice.

The contest stayed close through three quarters. Wesleyan stayed within striking distance and finally tied the score at 9-9 with 2:16 remaining in the third. From there, Tufts went on a game-winning six goal run, starting with Uppgren’s strike with 47 seconds left in the third.

The Jumbos continue their conference schedule by hosting Hamilton on Saturday at 1 p.m. From there, Tufts will play the final three games of its regular season on the road. The players stressed that, rather than worry about the loss, the team’s focus is on its upcoming challenges.

"Right now we're just moving on to Hamilton," Howard-Johnson said. "That's what we're focusing on."

The loss to Bates moves Tufts into a three-way tie at the top of the NESCAC with No. 6 Middlebury and No. 7 Amherst. Tufts holds the tie-breaker over Middlebury, having won the Feb. 28 matchup between the two. This means that its game against Amherst on April 18 will most likely decide who will hold the top seed in the NESCAC playoffs.

According to Daly, the team’s goal is to hit its stride and play its best during the postseason.

"We have to improve in all facets," Daly said. "Our goal every year is to be playing our best in May, and that remains the goal. We have a very proud and tough team. They will respond to the challenge."