BRUNSWICK, ME (April 23, 2025) -- Junior middie
Garrett Kelly scored his second overtime game-winning goal of the season Wednesday evening, as his double-overtime tally lifted the No. 1 Tufts men's lacrosse team over host and No. 6 Bowdoin College 15-14 in league action from Whittier Field.
With the victory, the Jumbos finished the 2025 regular season undefeated at 15-0, while going an unblemished 10-0 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Its the second time in three years Tufts has gone 10-0 in league play, and are the sixth undefeated NESCAC team since 2001. Wednesday's overtime win was Tufts' third of the season.
Tufts will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NESCAC Tournament after Wednesday's win, the 10th time in program history the Jumbos will be the top seed.
The Jumbos were in a fight all game against Bowdoin, as the game was deadlocked at eight after the first half of action. In the third quarter, the two teams traded goals back and forth until Bowdoin (12-2, 8-2 NESCAC) got back-to-back goals from Patrick Fitzgerald to make it 12-10 with 5:35 to play in the frame.
Senior
Charlie Tagliaferri pulled Tufts back to within one with an unassisted score at 3:06, but Fitzgerald scored again just before the end of the period to make it 13-11 Polar Bears going to the fourth.
Bowdoin took its largest lead of the game at 14-11 with 13:24 to in regulation, but the Jumbos responded a little over a minute later with a
Jack Regnery score to make it 14-12. Graduate student goalkeeper
Conner Garzone made two big saves midway through the fourth, and Kelly scored with 6:26 to pull Tufts to within one at 14-13.
Junior
Brooks Hauser scored almost exactly two minutes later to knot the game at 14, and each team had great chances late in the game but both goalkeepers made key stops to send the game to overtime.
In the first extra session, Garzone made back-to-back big stops to keep the game going and a late attempt to win the game by Kelly would not go as the two teams pushed into double overtime.
In the second overtime, senior
Parker Merril won the first face-off to give the Jumbos possession followed by a timeout. After the stoppage, Kelly took a pass from Regnery and buried his third of the game to clinch the win for the Jumbos.
Hauser had a strong game offensively for the Jumbos with four goals on just five shots on goal, while Tagliaferri scored three times as well. Kelly needed just four shots on goal to get his hat trick, and Regnery finished with two scores, an assist and two ground balls.
Senior
Max Ettinghausen also added a goal and an assist, and sophomore
Will Emsing chalked up two assists as well. Garzone finished one stop shy of his season-high Wednesday, denying 16 Polar Bear shots in the winning effort.
Victor Salcedo won eight of his 14 face-offs, picking up six ground balls, and Merril was 10-of-17 with six ground balls as well. Defensively,
Cam Delcristo and
Joey Waldbaum each had two ground balls and a caused turnover in the win.
Tufts outshot Bowdoin 60-44 for the game, though each team had an even 30 shots on goal. The Jumbos had a 19-13 edge in face-off wins as well, including a key 5-2 edge in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Fitzgerald had a game-high six goals, and Casey Ryan had five points on four assists and a goal for Bowdoin. Robert Hobbs made 15 saves as well.
Tufts will now have two days to prepare for the NESCAC Quarterfinals, where it will host Williams College on Bello Field Saturday, April 26 at 3 p.m. The Jumbos are 4-1 all-time against the Ephs in the NESCAC Tournament.
--JUMBOS--
