AMHERST, MA (March 11, 2023) -- The No. 2 Tufts University men's lacrosse team scored four of the last five goals of the game, coming from behind late in the contest to knock off No. 19 Amherst College 23-21 in an offensive thriller from Pratt Field at Lohrman Stadium in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play.
The Jumbos (3-0, 2-0 NESCAC) traded pairs of goals with Amherst over the first nine minutes of the game, as Tufts answered two-goal spurts by the hosts three times to make the score 6-6 after a
Michael Ayers goal midway through the first period. The Mammoths would finish the first quarter on a three-goal run to take a 9-6 lead, and continued that momentum into the second quarter with two more tallies to take an 11-6 edge after a Bayard DeMallie goal.
Senior
Jack Boyden stopped the Amherst run with an unassisted goal at 6:15 of the second stanza, and
Ben Frisoli minutes later started a four-goal stretch for the Jumbos to send the game to the halftime intermission with Amherst leading by only one at 12-11. After the break,
Kurt Bruun started the third quarter with back-to-back goals in just six seconds to give the Jumbos their first lead at 13-12 with 12:31 left in the third quarter.
DeMaillie would tally with the extra man to deadlock the game at 13, and the Mammoths regained the lead at 15-14 on a goal from matt Adams with 8:53 left in the quarter.
Tommy Swank tallied seconds later to keep the fast paced game going, and then Boyden tallied another assist as he set up
Joe Murtha with the extra man to put the Jumbos back on top at 16-15.
The two teams would once again exchange goals, matching their goal runs with equal scores before the hosts took a 20-19 lead with 11:17 left in the fourth quarter on a Tanyr Krummenacher marker. The teams would get some stops over the next few minutes, but Swank tied the game once again with a man-up goal with just over seven minutes left, his second of the day. That goal would start the decisive four-goal run that the Jumbos up for good, as Brunn tallied to put the Jumbos on top followed by a Boyden marker and an insurance goal from defender
George Panagopoulos to finish off the Mammoths.
Tufts outshot their hosts 71-57 on the game, while causing 19 turnovers. The Jumbos also held a decisive 48-30 edge in ground balls, while winning 27 of 46 face-offs on the afternoon. Boyden finished with four goals and a career-high nine assists, posting 13 points in the contest. The nine helpers tied for the second-most in a game ever at Tufts, while the 13 points were also tied for the most in a game ever. It was the seventh time a Jumbo has handed eight or more assists in a game.
Ayers finished with a career-high four goals, an impressive number for a long-stick midfielder, as he added five ground balls and a caused turnover as well. Bruun tallied three times as well, while Swank and Murtha each recorded two goals apiece.
Ben Frisoli scored on both of his shots, picking up two ground balls and causing two turnovers, and brother
Sam Frisoli netted two goals as well.
At the face-off "X," senior
Mason Kohn got his first action of the season, going 15-for-23 while picking up eight ground balls to pace the Jumbos.
Joey Waldbaum scooped up six ground balls and caused two turnovers, and
Cam Delcristo chalked up six ground balls and one turnovers. First-year
Victor Salcedo was 12-of-22 at the "X," adding six loose ball pick-ups, while Connor Garzone made a career-high 20 stops between the pipes for the Jumbos.
DeMaillie finished with six goals and an assist, while Bob Gross dished out four helpers in addition to his three goals. Mitch Likins also posted 18 stops in the loss for Amherst (1-1, 1-1 NESCAC).
The Jumbos will be back on Bello Field on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m., hosting No. 8 University of Lynchburg in non-conference action.
--JUMBOS--
