Box Score ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Tufts University men's lacrosse team held off St. John Fisher College for a 19-15 victory in the NCAA Sweet 16 on Sunday afternoon at Growney Stadium.
Top-ranked Tufts (8-0) got all it could handle from the #8 Cardinals (11-4). The Jumbos trailed 7-4 early in the second quarter, but finished the period on a 6-1 run to lead 10-8 at intermission. After St. John Fisher closed within 11-10 early in the third, a four-goal stretch put Tufts up 15-10 three minutes into the fourth. They were able to close out the victory from there.
The Jumbos advance to the Elite 8 next Saturday when they will play York (Pa.) at RIT. The Spartans defeated Franklin & Marshall 13-9 in the Sweet 16 today.
Senior Max Waldbaum led Tufts with five goals and an assist against St. John Fisher. Graduate student Matt Treiber scored four goals and with an assist and junior Mac Bredahl totaled four goals. Cam Kelleher (3g, 2a) and Garrett Samuelson (2g, 2a) were also key contributors.
For the Cardinals, Jack Mulvihill matched Waldbaum for the game-high in goals with five. Jordan DePetres finished with two goals and three assists. St. John Fisher would record statistical edges for the game in shots (57-53), ground balls (47-37) and face-off wins (23-15).
The teams traded goals in the first quarter, with St. John Fisher's Matthew Kemmis scoring with 30 seconds left in the frame for a 4-3 lead. The Cardinals would expand that margin to 7-4 by getting three of the first four in the second quarter. Jacob Gallina had two of those goals.
The most decisive run of the game came next for Tufts. Waldbaum and Bredahl both scored twice and Samuelson notched a goal and assist in Tufts' 6-1 stretch that gave them a halftime lead.
Mulvihill's tally at 12:11 of the third quarter drew the Cardinals within 11-10. Tufts had an answer though, as Kelleher scored twice and assisted a goal during a 4-0 run that put the Jumbos ahead 15-10 at 12:16 of the fourth quarter.
Fisher responded with the next two, and it was a 15-12 game with 8:52 on the fourth-quarter clock. The Cardinals were penalized for off-sides at 8:18 though, and Tufts turned that into Treiber's ninth man-up goal of the season. That started a three-goal spurt for the Jumbos and they led 18-12 on Bredahl's tally at 5:28 of the fourth.
The Cardinals kept coming, scoring the next three with a goal and assist by DePetres to get within 18-15. However, they'd run out of time and Waldbaum put a cap on it for Tufts with his fifth of the afternoon at 1:19 to finish the scoring.
Senior Joe Theuer was consistent in goal again for Tufts with 15 saves while also collecting four ground balls. Defenseman Jack Donohue grabbed six ground balls and caused two turnovers.
Joe Post won 22 of 36 face-offs for the Cardinals, who got 13 saves from starting goalie Darin Eakins (52 minutes). Ian Evans added eight ground balls to three goals and an assist for Fisher and Mulvihill finished with four ground balls.
