MEDFORD, MA (May 7, 2023) -- The No. 1 ranked Tufts University men's lacrosse team scored the first 10 goals enroute to winning their fifth straight New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championship Sunday afternoon at Bello Field, defeating No. 5 Middlebury College 19-6.
Tufts (18-0) has now captured 11 NESCAC Championships. They will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament and will be making it for the 13th straight year.
Tommy Swank got the scoring started after taking the pass from
Cam Delcristo who caused a turnover at the end and helped start the transition for the Jumbos.
Jack Boyden doubled the Jumbos lead with the shot clock winding out and then
Jack Regnery made it 3-0 off the feed from
Kurt Bruun. Swank scored his second of the day with the Jumbos on the man-up as
Joe Murtha came around the crease forcing the defense to slide to him and found Swank for the step down to make it 4-0 Tufts.
Regnery's second goal came off the feed from Boyden with Boyden then scoring second as Swank found him.
Max Ettinghausen joined the scoring party as his shot found the top left corner of net to give Tufts a 7-0 lead. With 18 seconds left
Sam Frisoli found
Charlie Tagliaferri sneaking from behind the net as Tagliaferri's goal gave Tufts the 8-0 going to the second quarter.
Louis Timmins made it 9-0 Jumbos early in the second quarter after setting a pick for Ettinghausen and got free to shot and find the back of the net. The Tufts' lead grew to 10-0 in the second quarter after Regnery finished off his first half hat-trick. After a Middlebury goal, Boyden responded with his third goal as Tufts took an 11-1 going to halftime.
The Panthers came out of halftime wanting to put pressure on the Jumbos, but
Conner Garzone stood tall in net as he made three key saves to keep Middlebury off the scoreboard. The defense was rewarded on the other end of the field as Boyden's fourth goal came off a feed from Delcristo and score was now 12-1.
Ben Frisoli's goal made it 13-1 as he caused a turnover on the defensive end, picked up the ground ball, and scored.
Just 16 seconds later, Bruun scored his first of the day from Boyden making the score 14-1. Tufts continued to find the back of the net as Swank found Boyden for his 60th goal and then Boyden found Swank for his 60th goal of the season as the lead grew to 16-1.
The Panthers would score the next three goals as they made it 16-4. The Jumbos had a response as Regnery and Ettinghausen both scored off passes from Bruun for an 18-4 lead going to the fourth quarter.
Bruun made it 19-4 early in the fourth quarter as he picked up a ground ball in front of the net and finished his second goal of the game. The Panthers would add two more goals and
Cody Wiebe would come in for Tufts to help finish off the 19-6 victory.
Boyden led the way in goals and points, as he scored five goals and added three assists for eight points.
Bruun and Swank both had five points. Bruun scored two goals and had three assists, while Swank scored three times and had two assists. Regnery scored four goals as Ettingshausen had four points with two goals and two assists.
Tagliaferri, B. Frisoli, and Timmins all scored goals along with Delcristo adding two assists with Murtha and S. Frisoli having assists.
Joey Waldbaum had another stellar defensive game as he caused four turnovers and scooped up four ground balls.
Kyle Adelmann caused two turnovers and had three ground balls.
Kohn dominated at the face-off "X," going 11-of-16 with seven ground balls for the Jumbos, with
Victor Salcedo going 5-of-10 with five ground balls. Garzone made 11 saves in net to earn the win and Wiebe made four saves.
Tufts outshot the visitors 55-37 on the afternoon, while winning 17 faceoffs. Tufts picked up 42 ground balls during the game.
For the Panthers, Billy Curtis had two points, one goal and an assist while five other Middlebury players scored. Hayden Kern finished the game saving nine shots.
Next up for Tufts is the NCAA Tournament. The selection show airs tonight at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.
--JUMBOS--
