Box Score Recap courtesty of Stevenson University
OWINGS MILLS, MD – No. 20 Stevenson University got goals from eight different players and the defense had 13 caused turnovers as the Mustangs defeated top-ranked Tufts University 11-10 Tuesday night at Mustang Stadium.
Stevenson (4-4) defeated a No. 1 ranked team for the second time in program history, and for the first time since topping top-ranked Salisbury in the 2010 Capital Athletic Conference championship game. For Tufts (4-1), the loss snaps a 13-game win streak dating back to last April 18 against Amherst.
Stevenson got two goals apiece from seniors Stephen Banick and Matt Tompkins and junior Wade Korvin, with Banick and Korvin each picking up an assist. Senior Pat Candon had a goal and two assists, while senior Taylor Morgan and juniors Kyle D'Onofrio and Morgan Pritchett and sophomore Kyle Karsian each had single tallies.
The Jumbos were led by three goals and an assist by Connor Bilby, while Kyle Howard-Johnson, Jake Gillespie and John Uppgren each had two goals. Gillespie also added an assist.
Stevenson carried an 11-9 lead into the fourth quarter after scoring the final four goals of the third frame. The score remained there until Bilby scored on an extra-man opportunity with 7:34 left, collecting a rebound following a save of an initial shot by Austin Carbone. The Mustangs won the ensuing faceoff, but couldn't get anything going, and Tufts countered with a pair of shots on goal, both saved by freshman Garrett Egnaczyk.
Following a Tufts penalty with 3:10 left, Stevenson was able to work nearly two minutes off 'the clock until the timer was put on with 1:38 to go. The Mustangs turned it over and Tufts called timeout with 57 seconds remaining with the ball in the Stevenson end. The Jumbos were unable to get a shot off due to a turnover with 33 seconds left. Stevenson was able to clear and following a timeout, run out the clock.
Stevenson trailed 7-6 at halftime, but a Korvin goal at the 12:32 mark tied the game 7-7. Tufts struck twice in a 23-second span, with Bilby giving the Jumbos the lead at the 8:35 mark, followed by a Carbone tally at 8:12.
The Mustangs scored four goals in the final 4:24 of the third, including two in the final minute, to take a 11-9 lead. A goal by Morgan in transition with the long pole at 4:24 got the rally started, then at 3:02, Tompkins scored on a feed from Korvin. With just under a minute left, Tompkins gave Stevenson a 10-9 lead, its first since scoring the game's first two goals. Tufts won the faceoff, but turned it over, and with 12 seconds left D'Onofrio scored his ninth goal of the season to give the hosts a two-goal lead entering the final frame.
Korvin gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead 13 seconds into the game before Banick made it 2-0 on his first goal 1:02 in. The Jumbos countered with three straight scores, and goals by Uppgren at 9:46 and Howard-Johnson at 9:34 gave the guests a 3-2 lead. Candon tied the game 3-3 off an assist from Banick at 8:11, before Tufts scored the final two goals of the frame to go up 5-3 after one.
Pritchett pulled the Mustangs within one 4:27 into the second quarter, but back-to-back goals by Gillespie, the second coming at 10:41, put Tufts on top 7-4. The Stevenson defense clamped down and held the Jumbos off the board the remainder of the half, and goals by Banick at 9:17 and Karsian at 4:10 cut the margin to one at halftime.
Egnaczyk came into the game midway through the first half in relief of starter Connor Skeen and made 10 saves en route to the victory. Tufts counterpart Alex Salazar turned aside 19 shots as Stevenson outshot the Jumbos 56-34, including a 38-10 margin over the middle two quarters. The Mustangs also collected 40 ground balls to Tufts' 28, and had 14 turnovers compared to the guests' 22 give-aways. The Jumbos won 16-of-24 faceoffs on the evening.
DeFazio finished with four caused turnovers and six ground balls in the contest, while sophomore Lito Flanagan also forced three turnovers. Korvin picked up five ground balls, while Candon added four.
Conor Helfrich was 15-23 at the faceoff X for Tufts and picked up seven ground balls.
Stevenson returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Hood College for a 1:00 MAC Commonwealth contest. Tufts returns to NESCAC action on Saturday when it travels to Trinity for a 1:00 game.
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