Tufts Survives NESCAC Men's Gauntlet
from press release
MEDFORD, Mass. - The Tufts University men's lacrosse
team won its first NESCAC championship on Sunday after scoring six
unanswered goals, including two each by juniors D.J. Hessler
(Monkton, MD) and Matt Witko (Chappaqua, NY, to battle back from a
four-goal deficit and defeat Middlebury College at 13-12 at Bello
Field. The Jumbos, who improved to 16-1, earn the conference's
automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Witko scored four goals overall and Hessler finished with two goals
and two assists to lead the Jumbos, who had advanced to the final
with an 11-10 comeback win against Wesleyan on Saturday. Junior
David Hild (West Hartford, CT) scored a game-high seven points with
five goals and two assists to lead Middlebury, who dropped to 11-5
overall and will await a possible at-large berth into the
NCAA's.
Hild scored twice for Middlebury in the first period, including a
goal with 23 seconds remaining that gave the Panthers a 3-2 lead
after one. Tufts dominated early in the second quarter, scoring
five goals in the first 3:26 to go up 7-3. Witko had two goals
during the stretch. However, the momentum shifted dramatically
towards Middlebury late in the second quarter. They ran off a
five-goal run of their own, including two more by Hild, and the
Panthers led 8-7 at halftime.
Middlebury extended its run to eight straight goals by continuing
to control the game and scoring the first three goals of the second
half. The Panthers led 11-7 on a tally by freshman Eric Pfeffer
(Glastonbury, CT) with 5:17 remaining in the third. Hild scored and
assisted the first two Panthers goals of the second half, and the
seven-time conference champions looked poised to add to their
trophy case.
In a game of dramatic shifts, Tufts stopped the run with Hessler's
goal at 2:06 of the third that started their own game-winning
rally. Back-to-back goals by Witko tied the score at 11-11 with
12:04 to go in the fourth. Then from behind the net, Hessler made a
move to beat his defender and scored the go-ahead goal unassisted
at the 9:23 mark. Jumbo senior Jamie Atkins (Concord, MA) scored an
insurance goal at 8:53, which was much needed when Cahill converted
a pass from Hild at 2:11 to pull the Panthers within 12-11. Tufts
sophomore Nick Rhoads (McLean, VA) won the ensuing draw, Middlebury
did not get another shot on net, and the Jumbos stormed the field
to celebrate their first conference title.
Rhoads dominated the face-off circle for Tufts, winning 18 out of
27. Sophomores Sean Kirwan (Boonton Township, NJ) and Kevin
McCormick (Laytonsville, MD) both had two goals and an assist for
the Jumbos. Senior tri-captain Eytan Saperstein (Hewlett, NY) was
immense on defense, grabbing eight ground balls, while senior
tri-captain Mike Droesch (Setauket, NY) added four. Sophomore Steve
Foglietta (Oceanside, NY) made eight saves in goal, with two in
each period.
Cahill finished with three goals and two assists for Middlebury,
who also received a pair of tallies from junior Andrew Conner
(Alexandria, VA). Junior goalie Ryan Deane (Grosse Pointe, MI) led
the Panthers with six ground balls and made 13 saves.
