MEDFORD, MA (April 20, 2024) -- Junior middie
Charlie Tagliaferri broke a 13-13 tie late, scoring the eventual game-winning goal with 2:48 to play to life the No. 4 Tufts University men's lacrosse team to 14-13 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) win over No. 15 Amherst College in play on Senior Day from Bello Field.
The win was key for the Jumbos (12-2, 8-1 NESCAC), as the victory coupled with a loss by Bowdoin College created a tie at the top of the conference standings with one game to play. Tufts and the Polar Bears will play for the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament on Wednesday night at 7 pm on Bello Field.
The victory didn't come easy and without drama though on Saturday in front of a large crowd that included the 2014 Tufts men's lacrosse team, which was honored at halftime on the 10-year anniversary of the program's second national title.
Tufts started quick as it tallied the first three goals of the game over the first 5:16, highlighted by the 50th goal of the season by sophomore
Jack Regnery. The 50-goal season was the 25th in program history. Amherst roared back with four straight goals to take a 4-3 lead at the 13:56 mark of the second quarter, but tallies from
Garrett Kelly and
Brooks Hauser put Tufts back ahead 5-4.
Amherst would net the game's next five goals over an eight-minute stretch, as Brendan Reilly scored down a man at 1:54 to make it 9-5 in favor of the visitors.
Joey Waldbaum came right back 14 seconds later to make it 9-6 going to the halftime intermission.
A big moment in the game came in the third quarter, as Tufts was two-men down for over a minute following three total minutes of penalties. The Jumbos would kill the 6-on-4 off, thanks to two saves from senior goalkeeper Connor Garzone and strong defensive play, and immediately tallied following the stand to make it 10-9 Amherst.
Just 1:28 later on the game clock, the Jumbos rallied back to tie the game at 10 on a Kelly tally off of a feed from Tagliaferri. The Mammoths took a slight 11-10 lead into the fourth frame, but Regnery answered at 12:23 of the fourth to deadlock the game once again.
Junior
Max Ettinghausen scored to put the Jumbos on top at 12-11 at 11:55, and Hauser tallied with on the man-up chance off of a great inside feed from Tagliaferri to up Tufts' lead to 13-11. Amherst wouldn't go away though as Reilly and Bob Gross scored to tie the game at 13 with five minutes to play.
On the next possession, Garzone made another great save and the ensuring offensive possession ended with a huge goal late in the possession clock from Tagliaferri off of a lay-off from Kelly to make it 14-13. After the two teams traded empty possessions, Amherst had the ball with 33 seconds to go out of a timeout.
The Mammoths drew up a play out of the stoppage and Jake Bennett's right-handed behind the back shot with 20 seconds to play clanged off the inside of the left post and out. The ground ball was scooped up by
Ben Frisoli, and the Jumbos were able to clear off the final 15 seconds to clinch the win.
Regnery continued to see his point total rise on Saturday, finishing with five points on three goals and two assists, adding three ground balls on the ride. Tagliaferri posted four points on two goals and two assists, and Kelly and Hauser each tallied three times to go with a ground ball.
Ettinghausen also recorded two goals and two loose balls for the Jumbos, who were outshot at home 48-47 on the day. Tufts held a 35-30 edge in ground balls on Saturday, led by the six from
Victor Salcedo who also finished 12-for-19 on the day at the "X."
Cam Delcristo finished with four grounders for the Jumbos, and
Ben Clarke was efficient with three grounders and a caused turnover. Frisoli and
George Panagopoulos each had a caused turnover and two ground balls in the victory as well, and
Greg Wells played well as well off of the bench defensively. Garzone finished with 16 saves in the victory.
Amherst was led by four points from both Reilly and Bennett, and Brooks Catlin had 13 stops for the Mammoths.
--JUMBOS--
