MEDFORD, MA (May 24, 2023) -- The No. 1 Tufts University men's lacrosse squad will travel to Philadelphia this weekend to play in the the 2023 NCAA Division III Championship game against No. 2 Salisbury University at 4 p.m. in play from Lincoln Financial Field, the home of the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles. The Jumbos will be making their sixth appearance in the title game in program history, and their first since 2016 when the Jumbos fell to Salisbury 14-13 in a game also hosted at Lincoln Financial Field. Tufts is looking to become the first NESCAC team ever to complete a perfect campaign, hoping to join Salisbury, Whittier College, Nazareth College, RIT and Montclair State as the only schools to have accomplished the feat as the Sea Gulls have done it seven times.
Championship Details:
2023 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship
vs. Salisbury University (22-1) -
Team Home Page
Dates: May 28, 2023 - 4:00 PM
Location: Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field (
Directions)
Coverage:
Live Stats -
Live Video -
NCAA Interactive Bracket -
Tickets
Tufts vs. Salisbury All-Time
The Jumbos are 3-2 against the Sea Gulls all-time, with all five meetings coming in the NCAA Tournament dating back to their first meeting in the 2010 title game in Baltimore. Tufts earned its first national title in that first game against Salisbury, a 9-6 win for the Jumbos, while four of the previous five meetings have come in the national title contest with each squad earning a pair of victories to take home the walnut and bronze. The only game to not take place in the championship game was last year in 2022, as Tufts defeated SU 17-10 in the NCAA Quarterfinals at RIT as
Tommy Swank had five goals and
Jack Boyden added four in the victory.
Previous Meetings
2022 - Tufts 17, Salisbury 10 - Rochester, NY -
Game Recap
2016 - Salisbury 14, Tufts 13 - Philadelphia - National Championship Game -
Game Recap
2014 - Tufts 12, Salisbury 9 - Baltimore, MD - National Championship Game -
Game Recap
2011 - Salisbury 19, Tufts 7 - Baltimore, MD - National Championship Game -
Game Recap
2010 - Tufts 9, Salisbury 6 - Baltimore, MD - National Championship Game -
Game Recap
Noteworthy Facts of Fun
- Sunday's appearance in the title game will be the first as a head coach or player for Tufts boss Casey D'Annolfo, who graduated from the University in 2006. D'Annolfo took over the reigns of the program in 2017.
- Tufts has appeared in the national championship game five previous years (2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016), playing Salisbury in four of those years while defeating Lynchburg in 2015 for the national crown.
- The Jumbos and Division I Duke University have a pair of Frisoli brothers playing this weekend in Philadelphia. Tufts has Sam and Ben Frisoli, while the Blue Devils will feature Will and Jack this weekend. Father Mike played at Tufts University from 1990-1993.
- Tufts and Salisbury are 1-2 in all-time winning percentage at the NCAA Division III level. Coming into the season, Salisbury led the all-time list with a .844 winning percentage, while Tufts was second with a .770 clip.
- The Jumbos have picked up 1030 ground balls in 2022, which is four shy of the all-time single season record for ground balls in a year as Illinois Wesleyan scooped up 1034 in 2018.
- Tufts has posted 20 straight winning seasons coming in, which ranks 12th on the current list in Division III. Salisbury is second on the list with 43 straight, behind just Ohio Wesleyan with 49.
- The Jumbos and Sea Gulls will be looking to play in front of a large crowd this weekend, as Salisbury and Tufts have played in three of the top 15 games in terms of attendance all-time at the Division III level. The two teams played in front of 22,219 back on May 25, 2014 in Baltimore.
- Tufts has 13 states represented on the roster, along with Jack Boyden representing Ontario, Canada, which includes, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, Texas and Georgia. The Sea Gulls have 14 states represented, including Florida, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, California, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Texas.
- Tufts has 40 players on their roster with at least one point in 2023.
- A win by either team this weekend will tie the Division III record for wins in a single season with 23, done twice before by Salisbury (2012, 2007).
- Tufts will be wearing white on Sunday, while the Gulls will be in gold uniforms.
A Look at the Jumbos (22-0):
Tufts men's lacrosse enters the NCAA Championship game as the unanimous No. 1 team in all major polls with a 22-0 record. The Jumbos defeated Lynchburg and RIT last weekend to advance to the title game, and are the lone remaining undefeated team in all of NCAA lacrosse.
This is Tufts' sixth appearance in the Division III National Championship game as they are looking to pick up a fourth national championship as a program. The first three came in 2010, 2014, and 2015. The Jumbos last appeared in the title game back in 2016 when they lost to Salisbury, 14-13 at Lincoln Financial Field home of this year's national championship game,
Offensively, senior attackman
Jack Boyden has had another stellar season as he has racked up 154 points with 68 goals and 86 assists. He recorded six points in the two games last weekend as he has four goals and two assists. His first goal against RIT broke Tufts' single-season point record which
Mac Bredahl set last year at 150. He was named a USA Lacrosse Magazine Division III First Team All American this season.
Kurt Bruun is another senior attackman, who after missing all last season with an injury, has comeback even stronger, posting 103 points on 57 goals and 46 assists. He has five or more points in four of his last seven games. Also on attack,
Tommy Swank has a team leading 72 goals and 21 assists for 93 points. He has scored 11 man-up goals this season and had five goals in the victory over RIT last weekend.
First-team All-Conference selection and second team All American,
Charlie Tagliaferri has improved his production from last year with 40 goals and 13 assists for 53 points. First-year student
Jack Regnery has been solid with 28 goals, while
Kevin Christmas has scored 22 goals. The Jumbos have 12 players that have 10 or more goals this season.
On the defensive side, the close defense trio of
Kyle Adelmann,
George Panagopoulos, and
Joey Waldbaum, have been stellar all season. Adelmann, a second team All American selection, is second on the team in ground balls with 79 and leads the team in caused turnovers with 43. He also scored his first two goals with one against both Lynchburg and RIT. Waldbaum was a first-team all-conference and All-American selection has 76 ground balls and 42 caused turnovers. Panagopoulos and long-stick midfield
Michael Ayers each have caused over 20 turnovers.
In goal,
Conner Garzone has been solid all season with a 56.3 save percentage and 9.87 goals against average. At the face-off "X" first team All-American
Mason Kohn has been dominant winning 71.2 percent of his faceoffs and scooping up 170 ground balls.
Tufts has the No. 1 scoring offense averaging just under 21 goals per game. They are second in Division III in ground balls per game with 47 a game.
Head coach
Casey D'Annolfo comes into the championship game with 104 wins for his career, picking up his 100th win in the NESCAC Championship game versus Middlebury.
A Look At The Sea Gulls (22-1):
No. 2 Salisbury enters the National Championship game with an overall record of 22-1 and riding a 19-game winning streak. The Sea Gulls defeated Washington & Lee and Christopher Newport last weekend to advance to the title game.
This is Salisbury's 20th appearance in the Division III National Championship game as they are looking to capture their 13th championship as a program. The Sea Gulls have not won a championship since 2017 when they defeated RIT 15-7 at Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL's New England Patriots.
Offensively, Cross Ferrara leads the team with 85 goals and 33 assists for 118 points. He is Salisbury's all-time leading goal scorer and points getter along with recently being selected in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) draft in the fourth round. In both games this past weekend, he scored four goals and in the Final Four game against Christopher Newport, he had three assists for seven points in the game. He has scored five or more goals in five games this season. Jude Brown is having another strong season as he also has over 100 points with 36 goals and 65 assists. He has three or more assists in 13 games this season and scored in six consecutive games.
Running out of the midfield, Jack Dowd, Brice Bromwell, and Luke Nestor have all netted over 40 goals. Of Dowd's 46 goals, eight have come on the man-up. Bromwell has recorded a goal or an assist in 22 of the 23 games this season including three goals and two assists in the Coastal Lacrosse League Championship game against Christopher Newport. Nestor scored two goals in each game last weekend and two or more goals in nine of the last 11 games. In total eight players have scored 10 or more goals for Salisbury this season.
Defensively, eight players have caused 10 or more turnovers for the Sea Gulls with John DeFazio leading the way with 56 along with being second on the team in ground balls with 103. Zach Timmons has caused 52 turnovers, including four against Washington & Lee in the NCAA Quarterfinal matchup. Blake Malamphy is the leading face-off man for Salisbury winning them at 59 percent and has 131 ground balls.
In goal, Nicholas Ransom has played in 22 games and started 18 amassing a 19-0 record. He has an 8.17 goals against average which is 11th at the Division III level to go with a 55.5 save percentage.
Salisbury commit the second fewest turnovers at Division III as they only turn the ball over just under 15 times a game. They are the No. 8 scoring offense, scoring just over 17 goals a game.
Salisbury is coached by Jim Berkman, who is the winningest coach in NCAA men's lacrosse history and in his 35th season as head coach of the Sea Gulls. During his time at Salisbury, he has won 12 national championships and has 610 wins. He is a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and has been the coach for eight undefeated seasons.
--JUMBOS--
