Despite leading by two goals at the start of the second half, the Middlebury men’s Lacrosse team fell to first-ranked Tufts by a score of 17-10 after the defending national champions staged a 13-4 run to earn a victory in the season opener. The result on Saturday, Feb. 28 stands as an improvement on last year’s opening matchup with the Jumbos in which the Panthers lost by a greater margin of 24-6.
For the second consecutive year, Middlebury opened season play against Tufts, who now defend a NCAA title after posting a 21-2 record on their way to a national championship in the 2014 season. The Jumbos found success in the previous season as a result of their high-powered offense, which was led by John Uppgren ’16 and Cole Bailey ’15, who combined for ten points (7G, 3A) against Middlebury on Saturday. However, the Panthers relied on strong defense in the first half and were able to limit the powerful Tufts offense to only four goals in the first 30 minutes of play.
John Broome ’16 struck first for Middlebury, scoring unassisted twice in the first quarter while Tim Giarrusso ’16 added a single tally off a Joel Blockowicz ’15 feed. Tufts managed to find the back of the net for the first time with 1:13 remaining in the first, and converted again with 0:02 on the clock to end play with the scoreboard reading 3-2 in favor of the Panthers.
The second quarter saw Middlebury hold onto their lead, with Blockowicz, Broome and John Simms ’17 adding to the scoring effort. Penalties were held to a minimum for both sides during the first half, keeping both teams at even strength throughout much of the opening 30 minutes of play. The Jumbos added two more tallies in the second quarter, leaving the score at 6-4 as both teams left the field for halftime. As they headed to the locker room, the Middlebury squad looked like they might be poised for an upset victory to open their season.
The feeling would not last long after the break. The second half brought a significant change of momentum, with the Jumbos outscoring the visiting Panthers by a wide margin of 13-4. The home team opened the third quarter with three consecutive goals, including one by Connor Bilby while Tufts had a man advantage. Broome was able to add back-to-back goals for the Panthers in the third quarter, rounding out his scoring performance at five on the day. In similar fashion to the start of the quarter, Tufts added another three consecutive goals before the whistle sounded to end play and send the game into the fourth quarter.
For the first time in the game, Middlebury opened the final quarter with a one-goal deficit. Tufts then proceeded to score seven straight, with Middlebury adding its lone goal of the quarter off a Jack Rautiola ’16 shot with 3:10 remaining. The Tufts attack duo of Uppgren and Bailey added two apiece in the fourth, and Uppgren also recorded an assist. In addition, midfielder Garrett Clarke contributed three goals for the Jumbos in the victory, while Austin Carbone racked up three points on two goals and an assist.
Tufts asserted dominance at the faceoff-X, taking a 20-30 advantage throughout the course of the game. Tufts also exceeded Middlebury’s ground ball effort, scooping up 37 to the Panthers’ 22. Consistent with Tufts’ reputation as an offensively talented squad, the Jumbos released 64 shots on the day, almost doubling Middlebury’s shot total of 36.
Both teams displayed competent goaltending at the hands of Will Ernst ’17 for the Panthers and Alex Salazar for the Jumbos. The two goalies recorded almost identical save percentages, 43.3 percent and 44.4 percent, respectively. However, tasked with offsetting Tufts’ notoriously effective offense, Ernst faced 30 shots while Salazar saw only 18. Also on the defensive end of the field, Middlebury players Cal Williams ’15 and Jack DeFrino ’17 each caused three turnovers, while DeFrino recorded six of the ten faceoff wins for the Panthers.
The final score is deceiving, however, because Middlebury stuck with the Tufts team for the majority of the contest.
“Even though we didn’t win, we proved that we can compete with anyone,” said Broome. “We had great possessions and played solid defense in the first half, which is definitely something we can build on.”
The Jumbo’s prolific scoring ability in the fourth quarter allowed them to differentiate themselves and capture the win, yet they trailed Middlebury for much of the game.
“Tufts outworked us on ground balls in the second half and capitalized on our mistakes, like any good team would do,” Broome said. “[If we can] string together a full game of good lacrosse, we have the potential to be a top team in the NESCAC and in D3.”
Middlebury returns to action on the road on Saturday, March 7 against NESCAC rival Connecticut College. Tufts looks to improve upon its undefeated record as they face out-of-conference opponent Stevens Tech over the weekend.
