If Saturday was any indication, the men's lacrosse team has no intention of relinquishing its No. 1 national ranking anytime soon.
Junior attackman Sean Kirwan scored a game−high six goals and senior quad−captain attackman D.J. Hessler tallied four assists for the Jumbos, who never trailed NESCAC rival Amherst and rolled over the visiting Lord Jeffs 13−9 on Bello Field in the season−opener.
Senior midfielder Matt Witko kicked off the scoring assault at 13:20 with an unassisted goal past Amherst freshman goalkeeper Greg Majno. Shortly after, senior quad−captain Alec Bialosky and sophomore Matt Callahan, both defensemen, forced a turnover off the Lord Jeffs' counter−attack, allowing Hessler to put Tufts up 2−0.
At the end of the first quarter, the Jumbos led 5−1 on scores from three additional players: Kirwan, senior quad−captain attackman Ryan Molloy and junior midfielder Kevin McCormick. For Amherst, junior co−captain midfielder Evan Redwood fed a ball to sophomore midfielder Ramsey Bates for the Jeffs' lone score of the period.
"The biggest thing was that Tufts was the first team we've seen that actually stretched out on us," Redwood said. "I can't really speak to how their youngness played into that, but I know they definitely came out at us and that was difficult."
In the second period, Amherst struck quickly, netting back−to−back scores in a 14−second span. Kirwan and Witko each scored twice more, however, and McCormick converted on an extra−man opportunity, while Redwood tacked on another assist and a goal of his own in a four−score quarter for the Jeffs, narrowing the Tufts lead to 10−5 at halftime.
The second half was significantly lower−scoring, as Amherst opened the third quarter with goals by Bates and junior attackman Cole Cherney, before Kirwan notched Tufts' lone third−quarter tally to make the score 11−7.
Kirwan continued his scoring assault in the fourth quarter, finding the net twice in the first three minutes off feeds from Hessler and Witko, bumping the Jumbos' lead to six goals.
The Jeffs, however, had the last say in their losing effort. With eight minutes remaining, freshman attackman Devin Acton, scored his second goal of the game on a feed from junior midfielder Alex Fox, while classmate midfielder Aaron Mathias recorded a score with 12 seconds remaining.
Despite defensive lapses, including the one that gave Mathias his second goal at the end of regulation, the young Tufts defense proved in the season−opener that it can pressure the ball and shut down skilled attackers. Fox and Redwood, who last year led the Lord Jeffs in scoring, were held yesterday to a total of one goal and three assists.
Sophomore defenseman Sam Gardner came up with five ground balls, while Callahan and John Heard, also a sophomore defenseman, had big games as well. Junior goalkeeper Steven Foglietta recorded 12 saves on the day.
"The Tufts style of play is a lot of fun," said Callahan, who transferred in from Div. I Fairfield. "We like pushing it a lot and a couple of the goals we gave up were just little mistakes.
"We didn't go out with any matchups, we just focused on sliding and reporting," he added. "Our defense is really young. There are a lot of sophomores. Sam Diss and [junior] Will Duryea are both defensive middies, and played really well. Once they have some good experience they're just going to get better."
The Jumbos' strong defensive effort extended to the midfield, where Diss and freshman Dan Alles assisted on clears and effectively pressured the Jeffs. Diss, who had four ground balls, demonstrated his growth from last season, and was instrumental to the Jumbos' transition game.
On the other end of that transition game were the Jumbos’ midfielders and attackers, who demonstrated that the breadth of Tufts' scoring threats extended well beyond the dynamic duo of Molloy and Hessler. While Kirwan dominated the stat sheet on Saturday, five Jumbos scored, and seven of Tufts' 13 scores were assisted. Witko finished the day with three goals and two assists, while McCormick also notched two scores for the Jumbos.
"We try to get everyone in the flow of the offense," Witko said. "We drive the transition down the field and that's what we do every game. We're an up-tempo team and we're athletic so we're just pushing and given any break, we try to take that break. We thrive on that; organized chaos, that's what we do."
Hessler and Molloy demonstrated their confidence in Kirwan, McCormick, and Witko, and the Jumbos exploited a wealth of scoring talent, a depth advantage that could prove crucial in later matchups.
"We have a lot of weapons when we have our guys out there," Kirwan said. "Without a doubt, anybody that we put on the field has the opportunity to put the ball in the net and it just goes to show you how good our team is."
The Tufts midfield dominated control of the ball, giving its attackmen countless opportunities to score. Junior faceoff specialist Nick Rhoads picked up 15 of 25 faceoffs, and led Tufts with seven ground balls. The Jumbos, who converted on 20 of 29 clears, demonstrated their ability to transition quickly, a talent that left Amherst defenders unprepared and unorganized.
"The first quarter they kind of took it to us real quick with that run−and−gun, but after that we kind of slowed them down. That was our goal on offense, to slow them down and get our looks," Redwood said.
By outscoring the Jumbos 4−3 in the second half, the Lord Jeffs demonstrated that they are a resilient unit that will not give up easily in close games. But Tufts never lost control of the contest, nor its grip on the top spot in the rankings.
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