Kirwan Nets 7, Tufts Blasts Endicott, 21-8
from press release
MEDFORD -- Sophomore Sean Kirwan (Boonton Township, NJ)
scored seven goals, one shy of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse
Championship record for a game, as the sixth-ranked Tufts
University Jumbos dismantled Endicott College, 21-8, in an NCAA
second-round contest on Saturday afternoon at Bello Field.
Tufts, which improved to 17-1, advances to the NCAA Quarterfinals
where they will host NESCAC rival Middlebury College on Wednesday
(May 19). A starting time has not been announced. Middlebury won
its second-round game at RPI, 16-8. Endicott College, which was
making its sixth NCAA Championship appearance, ended its season
with a 14-8 mark.
The Jumbos broke the game open with an eight-goal run stretching
from 5:40 of the first quarter until 6:17 of the second. Sophomore
Geordie Shafer (Rancho Sante Fe, CA), who had one goal for the
season entering Saturday, scored three times during the Jumbo run.
Kirwan scored twice, and senior tri-captain Doug DiSesa (Wynnewood,
PA) scored back-to-back goals - one while Tufts was down a man - as
the Jumbos took a 10-1 lead. Tufts had led 2-1 early.
Endicott regrouped and tallied four goals late in the second
quarter and early in the third to pull within 11-5. Junior Jack
Curtis (Chelmsford, MA) scored two of the goals for the Gulls.
However, Tufts stemmed Endicott's momentum by scoring six of the
next seven goals to build a 17-6 advantage early in the fourth
quarter. Kirwan's four goals, including three assisted by junior
Ryan Molloy (Setauket, NY), highlighted that stretch.
Curtis scored his second goal of the second half and fourth of the
game for the visitors at 10:18 of the fourth quarter making it
17-7, but Tufts finished with four of the final five goals for the
21-8 rout. Junior Brian Donovan (St. James, NY) had a pair of the
finishing goals.
Ten players scored goals for the Jumbos, who had a 55-33 advantage
in shots. Molloy, with a goal and five assists, and junior D.J.
Hessler (Monkton, MD), who had two goals with four assists, tallied
six points each for Tufts. Sophomore Steve Foglietta (Oceanside,
NY) stopped 14 of Endicott's 22 shots on goal, an excellent .636
percentage. Junior long-stick middie Alec Bialosky (Moreland Hills,
OH) scooped up five ground balls, senior tri-captain Mike Droesch
(Setauket, NY) added four ground balls to a goal and an assist, and
sophomore Nick Rhoads (McLean, VA) won 18 of 32 face-offs. The
hosts came out on top in the ground-ball battle 42-36.
Senior co-captain Brad Lipkvich (Madison, CT) had a goal and an
assist for Endicott. Junior Chris Cotter (Fairfield, CT) assisted
on two goals. Senior co-captain Eric Hagarty (Sudbury, MA) recorded
13 saves and five ground balls in the Gulls' goal. Junior
defenseman Robert Crossett (Katonah, NY) was on the spot for five
ground balls.
Heading into Wednesday, Tufts has defeated Middlebury twice this
season. The Jumbos won 10-5 at Bello during the regular-season on
April 24. Last Sunday (May 9), Tufts defeated Middlebury 13-12 at
Bello to win their first NESCAC title. This marks the first trip to
the national quarterfinals for Tufts, which improved to 2-2 in NCAA
Championship play.
