MEDFORD, MA (April 28, 2023) -- The Tufts University men's lacrosse team, currently the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation according to the three major polls, will look to capture its fifth straight New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title and 12th overall as it takes on Connecticut College at 3 p.m. Saturday on Bello Field. Tufts is the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC Tournament, having clinched the top spot after last Saturday's home win over Hamilton College.
Championship Details:
2023 NESCAC Men's Lacrosse Championship Quarterfinals
Dates: Saturday, April 29, 2023
Location: Medford, MA – Bello Field (
Directions)
Coverage:
TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
Earlier This Season
The Jumbos and Camels played the most competitive contest all season for Tufts, as the Brown and Blue outlasted Connecticut College 15-14 in New London. The Jumbos led 8-4 in the second quarter but the Camels rattled off six straight goals to take a 10-8 lead with 2:44 to go in the third quarter. Tufts netted three straight, including two off the stick of
Jack Boyden to take an 11-10 lead but CC scored just before the end of the period to send the game to the fourth deadlocked at 11.
Tommy Swank put Tufts on top early in the fourth quarter, but Conn. College netted back-to-back goals to make it 13-12 with 7:39 to play.
Jack Regnery started a three-goal run that ended up being the difference for the Jumbos, and a late face-off win allowed Tufts to run out the clock for the one-goal win.
All-Time With Conn. College
Tufts is 25-11 against the Camels all-time, having won the last 12 match-ups dating back to 2013. The Jumbos are 16-5 in the series at home, while this season's 15-14 contest was the closest margin of victory for Tufts in the 36-game history of the rivalry. Tufts has won every game at home against the Camels since the 2008 season. Tufts knocked off Conn. College last year in the NESCAC Quarterfinals 19-14, and is 6-0 against CC in the postseason all-time.
A Look At The Jumbos
Tufts remains as the lone Division III undefeated squad coming into the weekend, while the Jumbos and Division II LeMoyne are the only two undefeated squads left in the nation. The Jumbos are only the second team in NESCAC history to go 10-0 in the regular season, joining Bates College in 2017.
Tufts leads the nation in a bevy of categories, including ground balls per game, scoring offense and points per game. The Jumbos come into this weekend netting 21.07 goals per game, which leads NCAA lacrosse, while the scoring margin of 10.20 goals per game is fourth in the country. Tufts has picked up a total of 724 ground balls, third-most in Division III, while its face-off winning percentage of .625 leads the NESCAC. Tufts also has caused nearly 13 turnovers per game, which ranks first in the NESCAC and 18th nationally.
Individually,
Jack Boyden leads all of NCAA Lacrosse with 116 points, as his 4.53 assists per game rank first in Division III. Boyden has six games with 10 or more points this season, while he has tallied at least three points in every game in 2023. Over the last four games, Boyden has dished out 16 assists, and has a total of 26 points over that span.
Tommy Swank ranks fourth in the NESCAC in goals per game with 3.07, having buried 46 goals while firing 9.60 shots per game.
Kurt Bruun has been fantastic as well, as he is third on the squad with 3.07 goals a game, fifth-best in the NESCAC.
Additionally,
Charlie Tagliaferri has been the leading midfielder option offensively, as the shifty dodger has 29 goals and 11 assists for 40 points in all 15 games. First-year
Jack Regnery has fit right in on the top midfield line, as he has 18 goals and six assists, while
Kevin Christmas and
Max Ettinghausen have combined for 26 goals as well out of the midfield. The Jumbos love to get get their defensive middies involved in the scoring as well, as
Joe Murtha,
Cam Delcristo,
Michael Ayers,
Ethan O'Neill and
Ben Frisoli each have seven or more scores this season.
Defensively, Preseason All-American
Kyle Adelmann has been a man possessed as he ranks seventh in the conference in caused turnovers with 30, while teammate
Joey Waldbaum is eighth in the category with 26 forced giveaways. Tufts is the only team with three players in the Top 10 of the caused turnovers per game listing in the NESCAC, as Ayers has also caused 23 turnovers this season.
George Panagopoulos has also been strong this year, picking up 26 ground balls and forcing 16 giveaway. In between the pipes, Connor Garzone continues to hold down the fort as the junior net minder has made 154 saves for the season while saving 53.8 percent of shots on cage.
The face-off men for the Jumbos have been excellent as well, as Tufts has been led by senior
Mason Kohn and his stellar 72.0 percent face-off win percentage. That ranks fifth in the nation, and first in the NESCAC, while sophomore
Parker Merrill has won 62.7 percent from the "X".
Head coach
Casey D'Annolfo is three wins away from 100 for his coaching tenure at Tufts coming into the weekend.
A Look At The Camels
The Camels had to wait until the final day of the season, and had to get some help due to tiebreakers to make the NESCAC Tournament. In head-to-head competition between Hamilton, Conn. College and Wesleyan, all three teams went 1-1. All three teams finished with four conference wins. In results against the top four teams, including all teams at the 4
th spot (Tufts, Middlebury, Williams, Amherst, and Bowdoin), all three teams were 1-4. In results against the top eight teams, including all teams at the 8
th spot (Tufts, Middlebury, Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Trinity, Hamilton, Conn. College, and Wesleyan), all three teams went 2-6. In comparing results against teams in rank order, all three teams lost to #1 Tufts and #2 Middlebury while Hamilton and Conn. College defeated #3 Williams and Wesleyan lost to #3 Williams. Wesleyan was separated from the tie-breaking process to finish in 9th. Hamilton and Conn. College were then compared in head-to-head competition. Hamilton defeated Conn. College to earn the No. 7 seed. Conn. College earned the No. 8 seed.
The Camels come into Saturday's game 6-7 on the season, earning four NESCAC wins, but played some of the best in the league tough this year. In addition to falling by just one goal to Tufts at home April 1, the Camels fell to No. 2 seed Middlebury College by a single goal as well back on March 11. CC has struggled on the road this season though, earning wins at Western Connecticut State and Colby College. Conn College ranks 10th in the conference in goals scored this season with 156, but leads the NESCAC in goals allowed at just 138 this campaign.
The success defensively has been due to the strong play of goalkeeper Will Rice, who is third in the NESCAC in save percentage at 55.3 percent. Rice is also third in saves per game with 13.15 a contest. Nick McLaughlin is ninth in caused turnovers per game in the NESCAC with 1.54, while Henry Cabot also ranks 14th with 1.23.
Offensively, Jared Rainville paces the team with 30 goals and 25 assists, taking a team-high 102 shots. JJ Ford has 26 goals as well, and Liam Horkan has found the back of the net 22 times as well. At the face-off "X" the Camels have had a pair of players share the majority of the attempts, as Aidan Gaudet and Jason Fastiggi have won a combined 127 of 286 draws (.444).
Conn College is head coached by Jim Nagle, in his third year and second season in charge of the Camels.
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Quarterfinal action begins on Saturday, April 29 on the campuses of the higher seeds. The four quarterfinal winners will square off in the semifinal round on Saturday, May 6 at the highest remaining seed, and the championship game is set for Sunday, May 7 at the site of the semifinal matches.
--JUMBOS--
