COLLEGE MEN'S
LACROSSE FINAL SCORE
NESCAC Championship Semi-final
Tufts 11, Wesleyan 10
At Medford, MA
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Game
Box Score
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Sophomore Sean Kirwan's third and fourth goals
of the game gave Tufts the win
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MEDFORD -- Sophomore Sean Kirwan (Boonton Township,
NJ) scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals in
the final 1:24 of the fourth quarter as the sixth-ranked Tufts
University men's lacrosse team advanced to the NESCAC Championship
final with an exciting 11-10 win over Wesleyan University on
Saturday afternoon at Bello Field.
Wesleyan, the #8 seed in the tournament who had defeated #1 seed
Connecticut College in the quarterfinals, positioned themselves for
another upset against two-seed Tufts. The Cardinals scored four
straight goals from late in the third into the fourth quarter to
turn a 9-6 deficit into a 10-9 lead.
After taking their first lead of the game at 10-9 on a tally by
sophomore Teddy Citrin (New Canaan, CT), the Cardinals won the
face-off. However, they turned the ball over and Tufts junior
D.J. Hessler (Monkton, MD) fed Kirwan from behind
the net for a goal that tied the score 10-10 at 1:24 of the fourth.
Tufts sophomore Nick Rhoads (McLean, VA) won the
ensuing face-off, and after a time-out Kirwan scored off a feed
from junior Ryan Molloy (Setauket, NY) with 26
seconds on the clock.
The Jumbos had scored the game's first four goals in a span of
2:52 during the first quarter. Kirwan got the first at 7:03 and
senior Jamie Atkins (Concord, MA) tallied the
fourth at 4:11. The Cardinals were able to cut the gap to 4-2 by
scoring twice in the final 1:43 of the first. Senior Jon Killeen
(Derry, NH) scored one and set up the other.
After more than 12 and a half minutes of scoreless play in the
second quarter, the teams split four goals late in the period.
Sophomore Kevin McCormick (Laytonsville, MD) had a
goal and an assist for Tufts. Sophomore DJ Bernatavitz (Orlando,
FL) had both of the Cardinals' goals, including one to make it 6-4
with just 1.8 seconds on the clock.
Wesleyan scored two of the first three goals in the second half
and was within 7-6 on a strike by junior Graham Gnall (Morristown,
NJ) at the 7:45 mark. The Jumbos got the next two to go up 9-6 with
2:57 remaining in the third, but the visiting Cardinals owned the
next 15 minutes of play. Citrin started the four-goal run at 2:14
of the third and freshman Max Rosenman (Montclair, NJ) tied the
score with a goal at 3:59 of the fourth.
However, Tufts prevailed, with Kirwan providing the heroics as
the Jumbos advanced to their second straight conference final and
their third overall.
Kirwan's four goals led the Jumbos, while McCormick finished
with three goals and an assist. Hessler set up four goals. Five
ground balls by senior tri-captain Eytan Saperstein
(Hewlett, NY) led the Jumbos defensively. Sophomore
Steven Foglietta (Oceanside, NY) finished with
seven saves.
Bernatavitz's three goals paced Wes, and he added an assist.
Killeen had two goals and two helpers for the visitors. Junior Pete
Modera (Piedmont, CA) led the Cardinals with eight ground balls,
while senior Matt Ward (Boxford, MA) won 13 of 22 face-offs.
Freshman Mark Simmons (East Hampton, NY) and sophomore Grant
Covington (Gloucester, MA) split the goaltending chores, recording
nine and six saves respectively.
The Jumbos (15-1) will face the winner of Saturday's other
semi-final between Bowdoin and Middlebury in the championship game
on Sunday at noon. The Cardinals finished their season with an 8-8
record.
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