MEDFORD, MA (May 20, 2023) -- The undefeated ride for the No. 1 Tufts University men's lacrosse team this season went on for one more stop Saturday, as the Jumbos rolled out to a 7-1 first quarter lead, pulling away for a 17-9 victory over No. 11 University of Lynchburg in the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse quarterfinals from Bello Field on a rainy, cloudy day in Medford.
The Jumbos (21-0) entered the game as the clear favorite in the contest, but instead it was the Hornets (15-7) who got on the board first as Chris Darminio came down in transition and fired in his third goal of the season to make it 1-0 at 12:06 of the game. Lynchburg's lead would stand for only seconds, as Tufts'
Mason Kohn won the ensuing face-off and tallied his sixth of the season in transition to make it 1-1. That goal would start a seven-goal bonanza for the Jumbos to finish the opening period, highlighted by two goals from
Sam Frisoli to give the Jumbos a six-goal cushion going to the second.
The run continued into the second quarter for Tufts, as
Cam Delcristo scored in transition off a nice save from Connor Garzone to make it 8-1.
Kevin Christmas followed just over 30 seconds after that to up the Jumbos' lead before Grant Voigt ended the run for Lynchburg at 11:33 of the second frame.
The defenses would lock in from that point, as the next goal didn't come until the 4:47 point of the second quarter as Dylan Wolfe netted a man-up goal for Lynchburg to make it 9-3 in favor of the hosts. Another man-up goal from Wolfe put the score at 9-4, but
Charlie Tagliaferri answered with an unassisted goal with 2:22 to go in the period to give Tufts its six-goal edge back as the game went to halftime at 10-4.
After the break,
Sam Sturim started the third quarter with a laser on a fast break shot off a feed from
Kurt Bruun to make it 11-4. Lynchburg didn't go away, as it netted the next two goals to pull back to within five with 9:38 to go in the third quarter. After a save from Lynchburg with just under seven minutes to go, the Jumbos' ride forced a turnover, giving possession back to Tufts where it got another Tagliaferri goal to double up the Hornets at 12-6.
Two more goals from
Tommy Swank and Tagliaferri before the end of the quarter gave the Jumbos an eight-goal edge heading into the fourth. Tufts would net the first three goals of the final stanza, getting tallies from
Jack Boyden,
Callum Wood and Christmas to put the game out of reach while sending the Jumbos to their third straight NCAA semifinal.
Tufts will take on two-time defending national champion No. 3 Rochester Institute of Technology on Sunday at 5 p.m. in the NCAA Semifinals on Bello Field, after the Tigers knocked off Middlebury College 16-6 in the other NCAA Quarterfinal on campus.
Tagliaferri finished with three goals on five shots on goal, adding a ground ball, while Swank had two goals, an assist and two ground balls with a team-high nine shots. Frisoli and Christmas netted a pair of goals as well, and Boyden finished with a goal and an assist in the win as he tied the Tufts University record for points in a season with 150. Tufts posted 12 different goal scorers on Saturday, outshooting Lynchburg 75-37 in the contest.
Joey Waldbaum led the defensive side of the ball for Tufts with three caused turnovers and four ground balls, while Sturim tallied a goal, ground ball and two caused turnovers.
Kyle Adelmann also finished with his first goal of the season along with four ground balls, and
Joe Murtha added three ground balls and a caused giveaway. Kohn finished 10-of-13 at the "X" on Saturday, picking up six ground balls as Tufts won the face-off battle earning 16 wins in 29 chances. In goal, Garzone made nine saves while picking up his second career assist on a
Ben Frisoli goal.
Darminio had a strong game for Lynchburg, posting two goals and three ground balls, while Riley Mitchell added three assists to lead the team in points for the Hornets. Tyler Hadley also made 16 stops in net for Lynchburg.
Saturday's game was the fourth meeting between the two teams, which includes a battle in the 2015 title game, which Tufts won 19-11.
--JUMBOS--
