MEDFORD, MA (April 16, 2024) -- As has been the case so many times before over the last few years, the No. 4 Tufts University men's lacrosse team opened up a close game with an offensive outburst as the Jumbos rattled off eight second-half scores to pull away for a 17-11 non-conference victory over No. 11 Babson College from Bello Field Tuesday night.
The Jumbos (11-2) picked up a vital regional win on the evening, but it was slow to get going for Tufts early as the Beavers took a 3-1 lead at 5:46 to play in the first quarter after a Ford Carney goal. 38 seconds later,
Max Ettinghausen netted his first of the night followed two minutes later by a
Kevin Christmas goal at 3:12 to make it 3-3 heading to second quarter.
The goal run for Tufts continued into the second as
Brooks Hauser tallied unassisted to put the hosts up 4-3 at 9:09 of the second frame. Minutes later, Tufts exploded for three goals in a 22 seconds stretch, as
Charlie Tagliaferri netted a goal followed by scores from
Parker Merril and
Jack Regnery to make it 7-3. After Jared Rainville scored his 50th of the season for the Beavers, Ettinghausen and sophomore long-stick midfielder
Ben Clarke answered to lift Tufts ahead 9-4.
Garrett Kelly and Hauser would finish the first half with goals to put the Jumbos up 11-5 at the intermission, and those two goals would be part of a 5-0 run that extended into the third that saw Tufts lead 14-5 with 4:51 to go in the third frame. Babson tried to claw back into the game in the fourth with a 4-1 late run but it wasn't enough as the Jumbos won their third straight while moving to 5-1 at home in 2024.
The Jumbos allowed just 11 goals for the third straight game on Tuesday evening, and has posted seven games allowing 11 or fewer goals in a game this year. Tufts outshot its visitors 54-45 on the night, while earning a decided 22-10 edge in face-off wins, as Merril was 10-for-15 while
Victor Salcedo went 10-for-14 with the pair combining for 13 ground balls.
Defensively,
Joey Waldbaum had another banner game on the back end for the Jumbos finishing with three caused turnovers and four ground balls, while defensive partner
George Panagopoulos chalked up two caused turnovers and three grounders.
Cam Delcristo and
Ethan O'Neill also each forced two turnovers, and
Ben Frisoli also snatched up two loose balls. Senior goalkeeper Connor Garzone was strong between the pipes, making nine saves, while
Ben Friedman came in to stop three shots in just under nine minutes of action.
Ettinghausen finished with a team-high five goals, scoring on all of one of his six shots on goal, while Hauser poured in four tallies in the victory. Tagliaferri rattled home an amazing goal falling down, adding an assist and two ground balls, and Regnery and Kelly each had two goals on six shots. Christmas also recorded two points on a goal and assist.
Rainville led the Beavers with four points on three goals and an assist, while Connor Karsh found the netting three times in the loss. Alex Fascilla also tallied 19 saves in goal for Babson (11-3).
Tufts will now look forward to Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., taking on No. 15 Amherst College on Bello Field. The Jumbos will also be hosting Alumni Day, and the program will honor the 2014 National Title squad as well during the contest.
--JUMBOS--
