SCHENECTADY, NY (May 11, 2024) -- The No. 8 Tufts University men's lacrosse squad opened their run in the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament Saturday, setting a season-high for goals with 27 as the Jumbos rolled past Illinois Wesleyan University 27-9 in action from Frank Bailey Field on the campus of Union College.
The Jumbos (14-3) will now take on Stevenson University on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Union College in the NCAA Third Round, following the Mustangs upset of host Union Saturday, 12-11.
Things got going quickly for the Jumbos on Saturday, scoring the first four goals of the game in the first three minutes capped by a
Callum Wood score at the 12:07 mark of the first quarter to make it 4-0. Sam Weinberg netted his 32nd of the season to stop the run, but junior
Charlie Tagliaferri answered with his 32nd of the season to start a 7-0 run to finish the quarter.
The run continued into the second quarter as
Beau Keough tallied, followed by another from Wood and a goal from
Max Ettinghausen to give the Jumbos a 14-1 edge at 12:53 on the second quarter clock. The offense continued after the Titans (14-5) scored their second of the day, taking a 22-2 edge into the halftime intermission.
In the second half, Tufts was able to play its entire roster but the highlight for the Jumbos came with 41 seconds to go as reserve goalkeeper
Ben Friedman tallied his first career goal to put a bow on the win. It was the Jumbos first goalie goal since the 2019 season, while the 27 goals in the game were the most since tallying 27 against Emmanuel College in the NCAA Second Round last season.
The Jumbos outshot the Titans on the afternoon, posting a 61-35 edge, while Tufts forced 34 turnovers on the day by Illinois Wesleyan. Tufts also posted a 60-40 advantage in ground balls, while winning 26 of 40 face-offs on the day.
Tufts saw 16 players find the net on the day, led by the career-high five goals and two assists from Wood. Ettinghausen tallied four goals on five shots on goal, and sophomore
Jack Regnery had six points on three goals and three assists. Sophomore
Brooks Hauser tallied a pair of goals, dished out three assists and picked up three grounders.
First-year
Will Emsing netted two goals on the day, and Tagliaferri potted one goal and handed out three helpers. Sophomore
Victor Salcedo was 8-of-11 at the face-off "X" on Saturday, adding seven ground balls, and
Erik Helgeson won 10 of his 17 draws while scooping up seven grounders. Junior
Parker Merril also was 8-of-11 at the "X" for Tufts, adding six ground balls, while newcomer Logan LEe posted six grounders and four caused turnovers.
First-year Elliott Rutherford caused two turnovers and had four ground balls, while sophomore
Ben Clarke tallied four loose ball pick-ups and a caused turnover.
Senior
Conner Garzone made one save in his 15 minutes of action before handing duties off to Friedman, who stopped 12 shots in addition to his goal. The 27 goals were the sixth-most in a game in program history, and the second-most in an NCAA Tournament game behind just the 33 against Norwich on May 14, 2022.
Weinberg scored four goals for the Titans, while Ike Eastburn scored three times in the loss. Colin Tervo and Alex Oximana combined to make 15 saves in the goal for IWU.
The win marked the 15th straight season with an NCAA Tournament victory for the Jumbos.
--JUMBOS--
