Tufts Claims New Turf with Division III Title
by Paul Krome | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: TUFTS 9, SALISBURY 6
* Tufts Claims New Turf with Division III Title
* Former Walk-On Keys Tufts' Ascent to Crown
* Jumbos Show They Can Work from Ahead
* NCAA Championships Blog
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Attackman D.J. Hessler scored a goal and dished four assists Sunday in the Jumbos' 9-6 upset of Salisbury in the NCAA Division III championship game at M&T Bank Stadium. © Kevin P. Tucker |
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Role reversals might be tough to envision for the Tufts Jumbos – their elephant mascot likely as unflattering as their brown and blue uniforms – but they sure had no problem playing the role of a previous participant in the NCAA Division III men's lacosse final Sunday in Baltimore.
If only their veteran opponents could’ve executed the way these rookies did.
Junior attackman D.J. Hessler scored a goal and handed our four assists as Tufts jumped on Salisbury with a 7-1 run and hung on for a stunning 9-6 win at sun-drenched M&T Bank Stadium.
While the Sea Gulls bumbled and plodded around for much of the game, Hessler’s Most Outstanding Player performance delivered the tiny school from Medford, Mass., its first NCAA championship in any team sport.
“Besides our alumni and our fans, I doubt there was anyone out there who said we were going to win this game,” Hessler said. “That’s the way it’s been all season. It’s nice to prove that we belong and can compete on any stage.”
While sophomore middie Nick Rhoads was winning the first four and seven of the game’s first eight faceoffs, Hessler, the NESCAC Player of the Year, was beating Salisbury longpole Collin Tokosch for a goal and finding teammates on the crease for others, as the Jumbos executed with poise belying their inaugural appearance in the title game.
Ahead 3-1 midway through the first, Hessler found a cutting Ryan Molloy on the crease, and the junior quick-timed a shot past goalie Johnny Rodriguez for a three-goal lead. At the 1:33 mark, Hessler found Doug DiSesa on a cut, the senior having eluded Sea Gull long stick middie Connor Burgasser.
The 5-1 advantage equaled Salisbury’s largest deficit of the season, but it would get worse.
“The number one key from the film that we saw was to cover the crease,” said Salisbury coach Jim Berkman. “We said we’d go a little late, give up some one-on-one goals, but we were going to cover the crease. Obviously we didn’t cover it quite as well as we wanted to.”
“We were prepared 100 percent,” said Burgasser, who contributed a goal and an assist as the Gulls eventually rallied. “There’s nothing that Coach didn’t give us a look at. We knew what they were coming with. It wasn’t like they did anything special. These guys played lacrosse. They made some great catches on the crease. We had sticks on them, and they were still making catches.”
With just 31 seconds left, Tufts middie Jamie Atkins took short-stick Will Poletis to the right post and fired a shot right over Rodriguez’s right shoulder. He ended the scoring run midway through the second by evading Poletis on the crease and one-timing another brilliant feed from Hessler.
“Our defense, including myself, came out a little lackadaisical. It turned out to be the difference maker in the end,” said Rodriguez, who eventually settled down over the last two-thirds of the game, finishing with 11 saves.
“We got the jitters out last week,” said Atkins. “We came out tight against Cortland. We came out loose in the second half and won that thing. That carried over to today.”
Salisbury, meanwhile, couldn’t generate anything offensively in the set-up game. The Sea Gulls rushed shots from the outside, missed the cage by yards, fed cutters late and dropped easy passes in a baffling display of poor execution rarely seen from a program that’s won eight NCAA titles.
Strange indeed are the times when defensive middie Poletis led Salisbury with two goals.
Only after its defensemen began sliding sooner and creating turnovers did the Sea Gulls rally with their transition game. Back-to-back saves by Rodriguez in one sequence late in the second quarter ignited a Salisbury run. After one such save, Burgasser and attackman Jake DeLillo worked a nice give-and-go in an unsettled situation, the longpole scoring to make it 7-3. Midway through the third quarter, Burgasser would return the assist as DeLillo beat goalie Steve Foglietta (13 saves) to bring Salisbury within two at 7-5.
But that’d be as close as the Gulls would get. Sean Kirwan and Atkins scored in a much quieter second half to help Tufts close out the win. Hessler finished his season with a school-record 91 points, besting a mark of 89 he set last year.
For 12th-year coach and Tufts alum Mike Daly, the championship punctuated a rise from mediocrity for his school. The Jumbos had a combined record of 3-25 in the two seasons prior to his ascendancy to the head coaching position.
“We’ve tried to talk about it more than people will listen,” he said, sporting a playoff beard and sunburned nose. “This team is holding that trophy today, but the guys in that first year who were there, who started to buy in, earned this as much as anybody right on through the years. Those alumni have been there with us every step of the way. They’ve helped us with everything we’ve ever needed. It’s theirs as much as it is ours. It’s that humbling. It’s a tribute to all those alums that never experienced it like we did, but certainly they’re in our thoughts for the entire game.”
