MEDFORD, MA (March 26, 2024) -- The No. 4 Tufts University men's lacrosse blew open a 4-1 game after the first quarter, unloading for 11 unanswered goals in the second period to cruise past No. 8 Union College 24-5 on a cold, windy and rainy night from Bello Field in non-conference play.
The Jumbos (6-1) run of 11 goals in a period was the most without giving up a tally in the same stanza since chalking up a 14-0 third quarter last season at home against Springfield College on March 8. On Tuesday,
Charlie Tagliaferri started the second-quarter spurt with two goals in 11 seconds while scoring four total times in the quarter as Tufts turned a 4-1 lead into a 15-1 edge at halftime. Tufts outshot the Garnet Chargers 28-3 in the frame as it took control.
Tufts saw its 16-0 run finally come to an end in the third quarter after back-to-back goals from Union's Zach Davis, but Tufts collected seven more in a row from that point to take a 23-3 lead before a final goal by
Declan Murphy with 51 seconds to play put a bow on a win that tied for the season-high of 24 goals.
Sophomore
Jack Regnery exploded for Tufts offensively, as he finished with a career-highs of six goals, three assists and nine points, taking a career-best 15 shots in the game.
Tagliaferri finished with five goals, tying his career-high for scores in a game, and
Max Ettinghausen chalked up three points on a goal and two helpers. Sophomore short-stick midfielder
Ethan O'Neill tallied his first multi-goal game of his career with two goals, adding two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
First-year
Will Emsing and senior
Kevin Christmas each had two goals, as 12 players scored for the Jumbos on the night. Tufts finished with a commanding 74-29 shot edge, while also posting a 50-37 edge in ground balls. The 74 shots were a season-high, and the most since taking 75 in the NCAA Quarterfinal round against the University of Lynchburg. Tufts also went a clean 2-for-2 on the EMO.
Defensively,
Ben Frisoli continued to be a ground ball vacuum with eight loose ball pickups, adding two caused turnovers as well.
Joey Waldbaum added four caused turnovers and five ground balls, while fellow defender
George Panagopoulos finished with three ground balls and an assist. The Jumbos tallied a season-high 17 caused turnovers on the day.
At the "X", sophomore
Victor Salcedo was 7-of-13 with three ground balls, while face-off partner
Parker Merril went 8-for-13 with two loose balls.
Chris Tsetsekos won both of his draws Tuesday, and Lucas De La Paz also won a face-off in the win.
In between the pipes, Connor Garzone was his usual solid self as he stopped six shots while playing the first three quarters.
Ben Friedman also made three saves in 9:26 of game action in the fourth quarter.
Davis finished with game-highs of two goals and five shots, adding two caused turnovers and three ground balls. John Sula also tallied seven ground balls, and Matthew Paolatto finished 8-of-19 at the "X" with two ground balls. Dan Donahue stopped 11 shots in 36:10 of action, as Union (7-1) fell for the first time in 2024.
Tufts will return to New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play on Saturday at noon, hosting Colby College on Bello Field.
--JUMBOS--
