Box Score MEDFORD – The No.6 Tufts University men's lacrosse team had 14 different players record at least a point on their way to a 24-10 season-opening win over Colby College in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play at Bello Field on Saturday afternoon.
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| Senior Nick Shanks led all players with seven points (3g, 4a) in the win. |
Tufts opened the contest with three goals within the first four minutes of play as sophomore Duke Alf, junior Bryce Adam, and sophomore Cam Kelleher gave Tufts a 3-0 lead. The Mules responded with a three-goal run of their own as a man-up goal by Lane Kadish got Colby on the board with 9:21 remaining in the opening quarter. Then goals by CJ Hassan and Jack Rickards within a minute of each other equaled the score at three.
The three-goal runs would continue in the Jumbos' favor to close out the first quarter. Senior Nick Shanks recorded two goals in 1:01 and junior Taggart Eymer got a last-minute goal to give the brown and blue a 6-3 lead to close out the opening quarter.
The Jumbos continued their attack early in the second quarter when junior Kyle Helfrich recorded his first goal of the season just 13 seconds in. A pair of goals by junior Garrett Samuelson, with assists going to sophomore Mac Bredahl on both, extended the lead to six (9-3) with 9:02 remaining in the quarter.
The Mules would regain some momentum with a goal by Rickards and cut the lead to four with a man-up goal by Charlie Lynch with 6:30 remaining in the second quarter. However, Tufts sophomore Matt Lane would score just 11 seconds after the Mule man-up goal to get the Jumbos back on the board. He drove into the attacking end off a faceoff win by Helfrich. Helfrich found the long-stick midfielder who fired a shot by the Mule goalkeeper Matt Rocha. Tufts was not done scoring in the half as Samuelson and Shanks would score 13 seconds apart in the closing minutes of the second quarter, which gave the Jumbos a 12-5 lead headed to the break.
Adam and junior Jack Walton gave Tufts a 14-5 advantage early in the third quarter, but a back-and-forth battle would ensue as Colby netted four of the next six goals. Hassan, Mason Brady, and Rickards for two was interrupted by goals from Eymer and Bredahl. Rickards' second goal made the score 16-9 with just 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but another long-stick goal, this one from sophomore Trevar Hall, came with two seconds remaining in the quarter, putting the game out of reach for the Mules.
The Jumbos tacked on six more goals within the first seven minutes of play in the final quarter as Samuelson, Kelleher, Adam, junior Jensen Corabi, Alf, and junior Finn McTernan all found the stat sheet. Colby would end the seven consecutive Jumbo goal streak with a tally by Nick Percarpio. Tufts freshman Kurt Bruun tallied his first career goal with 1:07 remaining in the contest as the Jumbos would start the season with a 24-10 win.
Shanks' seven goalsl (3g, 4a) led the Jumbos, while Samuelson scored four times, Adam piled up three goals and two assists and Bredahl had four assists among his five points. Senior co-captain Jack Donohue caused a pair of turnovers. Rickards' four goals led Colby, while Hassan finished with two and an assist. Nick Percarpio caused three turnovers.
Tufts fired 80 shots in the contest, compared to 37 for Colby. Tufts put 44 of those shots on goal and 23 went on goal for the Mules.
Senior Mason Pollack earned the win having made the start in the cage for Tufts. He faced 21 shots, 13 on goal, and made eight saves. Junior Joe Theuer started the second half and he faced 16 shots, 10 on goal, and made five saves. Rocha, making his first collegiate appearance, earns the loss after facing 69 shots, 37 on goal, and making 14 saves. Billy Chizmar came on in relief and faced 11 shots, seven on goal, and made six saves.
The Mules were 3 of 7 with a man advantage compared to 2 of 6 for the Jumbos. Tufts won 28 faceoffs in the contest while Colby won 10. Junior All-American Kyle Helfrich won 21 of the 26 face-offs he took for Tufts in a dominating performance. In the clears department, the Jumbos were 19 of 24 while the Mules were 22 of 31.
Tufts plays their second game of a four-game homestand on Tuesday night when they host Springfield College for a 7:00 pm start at Bello Field. Colby will also return to action on Tuesday when they host Husson University at 7.
