HADLEY, Mass. – After the first weekend of NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament action NESCAC Champion Tufts and Runners-Up Middlebury are still alive with both teams advancing to the national quarterfinals.
Tufts cruised to a
27-5 win over Emmanuel to open its NCAA Tournament play at Bello Field. Callum Wood led the Jumbos with four goals while Joey Kraft added seven points on three goals and four assists. Conner Garzone and Cody Wiebe combined for six stops in the Tufts net.
In the second round, Tufts posted a
21-8 win over York (PA). The Jumbos led 17-4 after three quarters on the way to the victory. Jack Boyden (4G, 3A) and Kurt Bruun (3G, 4A) combined for 14 points to lead the Jumbos. Garzone made 15 stops in 52 minutes of action in the Tufts cage.
Tufts advances to the quarterfinals for the third straight season and will take on Lynchburg in the next round.
Middlebury held off a late rally by St. Mary's (MD) and hung on for a
10-9 victory in Schenectady, N.Y. in a second round. The Panthers and Seahawks were tied 5-5 after the opening quarter. The Panthers scored three times in the second stanza to take a 8-6 lead at the half. Middlebury's lead grew to 10-6 with 9:26 remaining in the contest. St. Mary's rallied with the final three goals of the game, the last coming at the 5:48 mark to slice the lead to one, 10-9. The Middlebury defense held the Seahawks off the scoreboard the rest of the way to pick up the win. William Ryan and Russell Thorndike combined for six goals and Hayden Kern made 14 stops for the Panthers.
The Panthers eased past Union,
19-10, in a third-round matchup. Middlebury led 5-2 after the first 15 minutes and 9-6 at the break. The Panthers outscored the Dutchmen 10-2 in the second half en route to the victory. Jack Sheehan and Cooper DeMallie scored three goals each to pace the Panthers.
Middlebury advances to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the 13th time in program history and the first time since 2010. The Panthers will face RIT in the next round.
Amherst opened its NCAA Tournament with a
17-11 victory over SUNY Geneseo in a game played at Salisbury. The Mammoths led 10-3 at the half but the Knights outscored Amherst 7-4 in the third quarter to slice the lead to 14-10. Amherst answered with three straight goals in the fourth quarter to push its lead to seven, 17-10, and the Knights tallied their final marker with 2:38 remaining in the game. Jake Bennett scored four goals for the Mammoths and Bob Gross added seven points (3G, 4A). Mitch Likins made 10 stops in net.
Amherst took on Salisbury in the second round, falling
14-10. The Seagulls jumped out to a 5-0 lead and led 12-5 after three periods of play. The Mammoths rallied for five goals in the final 15 minutes, but could not complete the comeback effort. Bennett and Thomas Ehret netted hat tricks and Tanyr Krummenacher added four points (2G, 2A) to lead Amherst.
The Babson Beavers avenged a regular-season loss to Williams with a
16-10 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Babson led 9-6 at the half and outscored the Ephs 7-4 in the second stanza. Nick Bates led Williams with three goals and Calvin Caputo added four points on two goals and two assists. Matthew Freitas made 11 saves for Williams.
