MEDFORD, MA (May 4, 2025) -- Behind a dynamic offense and stellar defensive unit, the No. 1 Tufts University men's lacrosse team earned its 13th New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) crown in program history with a dominant 22-10 win over No. 6 Wesleyan University in the conference title game Sunday on Bello Field.
The win (18-0) comes with the NESCAC's league automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament field, which will be announced Sunday night at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com. The victory also marks the Jumbos sixth title in the last seven seasons and 13th in the last 15 seasons dating back to the 2010 season. Tufts has now won 23 straight games overall dating back to last season, the longest streak in all of NCAA lacrosse.
These two teams played one of the best games of the entire Division III regular season back on April 5, a 20-19 overtime win for the Jumbos in Middletown, but Sunday's NESCAC title game was far more one-sided.
With the game tied at two with 6:27 to go in the first quarter following a Jack Raba goal for Wesleyan, Tufts came right back 28 seconds later to take the lead on the 45th goal of the season from
Max Ettinghausen, as he finished beautifully off a
Garrett Kelly feed. That tally would start a three-goal run, with two scores coming from
Charlie Tagliaferri to make it 5-2. A late Cardinal goal made it 5-3 heading to the second quarter.
The second quarter would be the deciding period in the game, as the Jumbos blitzkreiged Wesleyan with a 9-0 run in the 15-minute stretch, turning a 5-3 lead into a 14-3 edge at the halftime break. In the frame, Tufts got three goals from Ettinghausen including an acrobatic, one-handed finish off of a loose ball to electrify the bench and Jumbo crowd. Junior
Brooks Hauser also had two goals during the period to help lead the Jumbos.
The momentum would trickle into the third quarter, as Ettinghausen kept the goals coming with his fourth of the game just 1:52 into the quarter off of a great look from sophomore
Will Emsing to make it 15-3. Tufts would outscore the Cardinals 7-4 in the third quarter, answering every Wesleyan tally with one of their own.
The Jumbos would be able to get the entire roster into the game in the fourth, as all five goalkeepers played once again as the Jumbos cruised to the win.
Tufts saw eight players post multiple points in the victory on Sunday, led by the three goals and an assist from Tagliaferri. Ettinghausen finished with four goals to lead all scorers in the game, while Kelly tallied three times to go with his one assist. Regnery had four points on three goals and an assist, and Emsing finished with a team-high three helpers as well.
Hauser contribute two goals, while
Sam Frisoli and
Joey Kraft each netted a pair of scores for the Jumbos. Kraft's two goals got him to 10 for the season, as the Jumbos now boast nine double-digit goal scorers.
Senior
Parker Merril rebounded from a tough outing on Saturday to dominate at the "X", as he was 13-for-15 with a team-high eight ground balls. Junior
Victor Salcedo also was 9-for-15 while scoring a goal and picking up five ground balls. Senior defender
Joey Waldbaum caused two turnovers in addition to his five ground balls, and
Ethan O'Neill was stellar at short-stick midfield with two caused turnovers and two loose ball pick-ups.
First-year
William Bonner and junior
Cole Friedlander also each forced two turnovers for the Jumbos, as Tufts made the Cardinals give it away 14 times in the game.
Conner Garzone won his 17th game in net on Sunday, as he made four saves while allowing just three goals in his 30 minutes of action. Senior
Ben Friedman stopped three shots as well for the Jumbos, while
Will Anderson,
Jack Old and
Alex Dircks all got time between the pipes in the win.
Tufts outshot Wesleyan 65-46 for the game, and won the face-off battle 26-10. The Jumbos also were a solid 2-for-3 with the extra man, and edged Wesleyan in the ground ball count, 44-29.
The Jumbos will be making their 17th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament this season, all coming since the 2007 season. Tufts will be in search of its fifth national title in the coming weeks, looking to repeat for the second time in program history (2014 & 2015).
--JUMBOS--
