MEDFORD, MA (March 3, 2023) -- The Tufts University men's lacrosse team has established itself over the last 10 to 15 years as one of the preeminent men's lacrosse programs in Division III. The Jumbos have won three national titles, the latest coming back in 2015, and Tufts looks poised to get back to the national title game for the first time since 2016. Tufts does have the squad to get back there, as the Jumbos come into the season ranked No. 2 in the Inside Lacrosse Top 20 poll.
"Yeah, the goal every year is to win the national championship," said head coach Casey D'Annolfo, now in his seventh season at the helm of the Jumbos. "We're not very quiet about that. But our guys know that there's a lot that needs to be done between today and the end of May. So they understand that again, we want to keep our goal in mind, but also understand that none of that can come to fruition if we're not working hard, every single day."
That lunch pail, hard-working mentality is one that has come from the leadership of the upper classmen, a group that has been strong at passing down the concepts and cultere of the program. "It's been huge," said D'Annolfo. "The offseason, without the coaching staff being there, for the first time in three years was essential. We felt like when we got those guys, on February 8, that the the seniors and the captains have done a fantastic job of getting those guys ready for the first day. So those guys are always the most important part of the leadership, and the culture building way more so than the coaches."
Tufts is coming off a 19-3 season in 2022, a year that saw the Jumbos earn their 11th New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title. Tufts also advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals in 2022, and so far D'Annolfo is excited about what he has seen out of his group in preseason practice. "It's a really coachable group. We're very experienced in some areas like attack and close defense and the face-off "x", and then we're pretty young in the middle of the field," said D'Annolfo. "Our LSM's, and our offensive and defensive middies, we're pretty young there. So it's been great to see the guys take coaching, try some new things, and just try to implement that. So we feel like we're getting better every day, but we still have a lot of work to do."
The strength of the squad last year and one of the primary threats over the years has been the potent attack, which finished last year with 446 goals on the season. The total was an NCAA record, while Tufts has two of the top three goal scoring seasons in Division III history. The Jumbos want to get out and go, score early and often, and they certainly have the personnel to fit that style though it could look a little different this year. "I think philosophically, it's going to be the same we want to push the envelope on speed and attacking," said D'Annolfo. "It's just a matter of getting everybody on the same page in terms of what we're doing offensively. So I think the pace and the tempo were going to be the same, but the looks and the shape might be a little different."
Along with that, when you play a breakneck pace like Tufts, depth becomes a huge piece to the puzzle. The Jumbos have a deep and experienced team this year, and that will come in handy in what is always a tough and difficult slate of games. Tufts will take on the always-hard NESCAC conference slate, while playing national powers Lynchburg, Cabrini, Stevens and Union College. Those games will provide big moments to allow tons of people to have opportunities to shine.
"The depth becomes really key towards the end of the year when there's bumps and bruises and you start playing back to back games," said D'Annolfo. "So it's really important to get those guys that might not see a ton of playing time early on, but might see it later on to get those guys reps, whether that's in practice or in games. So I think you'll see a lot of guys and a lot of new faces playing. But that's only so that we can be ready later on in the season."
D'Annolfo continued, "We really want to use the regular season to test us so that we're ready for the postseason. So we've got Cabrini and Lynchburg, and Springfield and Union on the schedule. All of those teams spent time in the top 20. Last year, some of them spent time in the top five last year, we really feel that between the NESCAC competition and those guys that we're going to see just about every look that we're going to see come postseason. So that's really our goal in scheduling those top teams is to be tested and try and get as many different looks as we can."
Despite some changes here and there with players and concepts, fans can continue to still see the Jumbos playing with full energy all the time. When asked what fans could expect, D'Annolfo didn't hesitate. "They're gonna see a tempo that they're not really used to. They're gonna see a lot of excitement from our guys both on the field and off the field. They love to play lacrosse. And hopefully they're gonna see guys that are working hard and picking up tough ground balls and just trying to make all of the little plays and not just worried about making the big, flashy plays."
A full breakdown by position is below:
OFFENSE
The Jumbos return a strong contingent to this year's offensive unit, led by 2022 leading goal scorer Jack Boyden. The now-senior posted 86 goals and 47 assists last year for 133 points, scoring on 44.3 percent of his shot attempts. The Toronto, Ontario native was voted as Preseason First Team All-American, as well as USA Lacrosse Preseason Attackman of the Year, and should continue to be a driving force on the offensive end.
Tufts will have to deal with the loss of Mac Bredahl, who posted 73 goals and 77 assists last season, along with Camden Kelleher and his 62 goals from a season ago. As stated earlier though, the Jumbos were deep and talented offensively and bring back senior Tommy Swank, who finished with 54 goals as a junior. Fellow senior Kurt Bruun was off to a stellar start in 2022 with 13 goals in three games before missing the rest of the campaign, but he is back to pick up where he left off in 2022.
Another piece that Tufts will look to replace is Duke Alf, who scored 32 goals last season, but the Jumbos saw now-sophomore Charlie Tagliaferri scored 13 goals while playing in all 22 games. Junior Kevin Christmas is also a large attackman up front, scoring 13 goals last season, while sophomore Max Ettinghausen netted 12 goals in 18 games of action.
Sophomore Cam Delcristo added nine goals in 22 games of action last season, and others will look to step up into bigger roles as well. Senior Garrett Kurtz also potted six goals for the Jumbos who also have a large group of newcomers that could also make their mark in 2023.
DEFENSE
The defensive unit for Tufts is a hugely important one, as the Jumbos like to create turnovers, get out in transition and be aggressive. Tufts returns All-American Kyle Adelmann, who finished last season with a team-best 50 caused turnovers. The aggressive defender was a NESCAC Second Team honoree, and will look to continue to be a rock for the Jumbos.
He wasn't the only defender to pick up postseason honors for the Jumbos, as short-stick defensive midfielder Joe Murtha returns after an Honorable Mention All-American campaign that saw him cause 17 turnovers along with 28 ground balls. Michael Ayers had a fantastic first-year campaign in 2022, as he was second on the team in caused turnovers with 24 while scooping up 49 ground balls. Classmate Joey Waldbaum got the start in 21 games as a first-year, and had a great season with 23 caused turnovers and 71 ground balls.
Louis Timmins played played in 20 games as a shortie as well, and picked up 18 ground balls in addition to six caused turnovers. As stated above by D'Annolfo, the LSM and d-middle group is inexperienced but will still be talented.
FACE-OFF
Talking with D'Annolfo last week, the head coach of the Jumbos was adamant that the team could have one of the deepest face-off groups in the entire nation. Along with the depth comes with fantastic talent as well, while Tufts brings its top two best draw men from last season.
Sophomore Parker Merril had a strong first-year campaign as he won an impressive 61.2 percent from the "X," winning 235 of his 384 draws in 2022. That number included going 25-9 against Wesleyan, 22-9 against Williams and 17-4 against Lynchburg. Face-off partner Mason Kohn also had a great season, as he was successful 57.1 percent of the time while picking 81 ground balls. Kohn was 18-9 against RIT in the national semifinals and was massive down the stretch for the Jumbos.
Owen Sedransk posted 24 face-offs in 2022, and will look to work in more as a sophomore, while first-years Victor Salcedo and Chris Tstetsekos are both very solid options that could contribute immediately as well.
GOALKEEPING
The Jumbos have five goalkeepers on the roster this spring, which includes 2022 full-time starter and now junior Connor Garzone. The Malvern, NY native got the starting assignment in all 22 games as a sophomore, stopping 50.6 percent of the shots on cage. Garzone was voted as an Honorable Mention All-American in 2022, and he will look to continue to hold down the spot between the pipes.
The Jumbos have a trio of seniors as well that all got time last season as reserves, led by Cody Wiebe who played in 10 games while stopping 56.4 percent of the shots that came his way in 144 minutes. Classmates Eugene Yoon and Shane Molloy combined to play in five games, while sophomore Ben Friedman also will battle for playing time in what should be another deep and experienced area for the Jumbos.
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The Jumbos will open their season in the NESCAC on Sunday, March 5 at Colby College at 2 p.m. in Waterville, ME. The home opener is Wednesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. against Springfield College in non-conference play.
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