Box Score
Recap courtesy of Stevenson University
OWINGS MILLS, MD - Stevenson men's lacrosse junior Tony Rossi, junior Colin Dabney and senior Glen Tompkins all posted career-highs in points while sophomore Dimitri Pecunes totaled a career-high 16 saves as the #5 Mustangs never trailed en route to a 15-9 victory over #3 Tufts Tuesday at Mustang Stadium.
Stevenson (6-1) evened the series with the Jumbos at 2-2 while extending its home winning streak to 16 and avenging last year's 7-6 loss to Tufts at home on Mar. 19, 2013. The Mustangs are now 33-2 in three seasons at Mustang Stadium.
Highlighted by Pecunes, Stevenson's defense limited the Jumbos to just 39 shots, 22 below their season average while totaling 10 caused turnovers. Tufts entered the game averaging 21 goals per game as well, scoring on one out of every three shots.
The Mustangs also held a commanding 47-29 advantage in ground balls in a match-up of two of the last four national champions.
Offensively, Stevenson had four players tally at least five points, highlighted by six each from Rossi and sophomore Stephen Banick. Rossi finished with three goals and three assists. Banick had six points also, which included a career-high five goals, and Dabney also had a career-high five goals against the Jumbos. With five assists, Tompkins tied his career-high with five points as well.
Senior Beau Wood, the NESCAC Player of the Week, had two goals and two assists and junior Cole Bailey registered a goal with four assists to lead Tufts (4-1).
Stevenson jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game's first seven-plus minutes, scoring the game's first goal for the first time in five contests at home this season. It was just the second time in seven games this season and first since RIT that the Mustangs scored first.
Trailing 5-2 after one, Tufts (4-1) pulled within one with 4:44 remaining in the second after back-to-back goals by Wood and Dan Leventhal before Dabney, Rossi and Banick scored three-straight to push the lead to four with 1:16 to play. John Uppgren scored a man-up for the Jumbos with 49 seconds to go until halftime and it was 8-5 Mustangs at the break.
The Mustangs stretched their lead to as many as six at 12-6 with 5:40 left in the third quarter following back-to-back tallies by Dabney and would never let it slip below four the rest of the way. Tufts had closed to within 13-9 on goals by Chris Schoenhut and Uppgren early in the fourth, but that is as close as they would get.
Senior defenseman Dan Alles caused two turnovers and had three ground balls for the Jumbos. Senior goalie Patton Watkins finished with 10 saves.
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