Tufts tops Bowdoin in regular season finale

The Jumbos wrapped up their regular season schedule Wednesday night with a 15-9 victory under the lights over the Bowdoin Polar Bears. The No. 6 defending Div. III champions are now headed into the playoffs.

With the win in Brunswick, Maine, Tufts improved its record to 13-2 overall and 8-2 within the NESCAC. Bowdoin fell to 3-12 overall and 2-8 in conference play, failing to qualify for the postseason, thus ending their season with their bout against Tufts.

The Jumbos played a strong all-around game Wednesday, tallying 56 shots (32 of which were put on goal) and holding the Polar Bears to just 26 shots (15 on goal). Tufts also won 22 of the game’s 28 faceoffs, including 14 wins in 16 attempts by junior midfielder Conor Helfrich.

“It was a great team win. All three phases made contribution[s] and gave the team opportunities to make plays,” coach Mike Daly told the Daily in an email.

The bulk of the Jumbos’ scoring came from sophomore midfielder Zach Richman and senior midfielder Peter Gill, who scored five goals each . Junior attack Ben Andreycak scored a goal and added four assists.

With the game tied at three early in the second quarter, the Jumbos scored four goals in just over two minutes to open up a 7-3 lead. Tufts extended that lead to nine at 14-5 early in the fourth quarter. Bowdoin mounted a small rally that cut the deficit to 14-9, but its efforts ultimately fell short.

Bowdoin kept close to striking distance in large part due to the efforts of sophomore goaltender Peter Mumford, who racked up 17 saves against the high-powered Jumbos attack. The win allowed Tufts to end the regular season on a high note before entering the playoffs.

“It's important to compete every time we have the chance. We need to be playing our best at this time of year, as the season can end at any moment,” Daly said.

On Saturday, Tufts lost at Amherst by a score of 12-6. With the victory, the No. 5 Lord Jeffs moved to 13-1 and took over first place in the NESCAC.

For Tufts, the six-goal output was the lowest of the regular season. The Jumbos were held scoreless in the first period of a game that the Lord Jeffs were able to control throughout. Tufts was outshot 66-40.

The loss for Tufts was the program’s first against Amherst since April 2003.

Due largely to this head-to-head match-up against one another, Amherst finished first in the NESCAC and Tufts finished second.

“Amherst played well, and that's really it. They made more plays than us. In any lacrosse game, that's a pretty simple metric. We are working on our consistency of making plays and taking care of our opportunities,” Daly said.

As the academic year begins to wrap up, the lacrosse postseason is just getting started. The Jumbos embark on their hunt for a sixth consecutive NESCAC title, as well as a second consecutive Div. III national championship. Given its postseason success in recent years, expectations and hopes are high for Tufts -- but the team isn’t taking anything for granted.

“We need to continue to improve. We can and need to play better. Every day can be our last, so we need to approach each day with urgency and consistently make plays,” Daly said.

For the Jumbos, being second seed in the conference tournament means they will play host to the Hamilton Continentals this Saturday.

Tufts won decisively by a score of 25-6 on April 11, the last time that it played Hamilton. However, that by no means indicates that the playoff match-up will be an easy win.

“We have great respect for Hamilton and their program. It was a bit of a surprise how the last game went. They are a tough, hard working team, and we will need a focused and consistent effort to win. I'm sure they will be prepared and ready for us,” Daly said.