BOX
SCORE
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - The Tufts University men's lacrosse team held
off Bowdoin, 10-8, to take a victory in the NESCAC semifinals on
Saturday at Middlebury College. The Jumbos advance to Sunday's
NESCAC title game while the Polar Bears will hold out hope for an
at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when selections are announced
on Sunday night.
Tufts got on the board quickly after Mike Droesch grabbed the
initial faceoff groundball and scored at 14:44 in the first.
Bowdoin tied it at the 11:00 mark when Owen Smith's driving
shot got past Jumbo goalie Matt Harrigan. D.J. Hessler was involved
in the next two goals for Tufts, assisting on Ryan Molloy's
tally and scoring the first of his team-high four goals at 7:12 for
a 3-1 lead. Both team exchanged goals later in the quarter before
Bowdoin knotted the game at four apiece with goals by Smith at 1:05
and Steve Thomas' driving bounce shot with 13 seconds
left.
After a torrid first quarter, the scoring slowed as the Tufts
defense clamped down on the Polar Bears for the next two quarters,
holding Bowdoin scoreless. During the Polar Bear drought, the
Jumbos slowly built a 7-4 advantage. Jamie Atkins' goal at
6:57 in the second was followed by an impressive over-the-shoulder
tally by Molloy 29 seconds later. Tufts added their seventh goal at
1:58 in the third quarter on a doorstep shot by Matt Witko.
Bowdoin ended their drought early in the fourth quarter when
Cullen Winkler scored at 14:28. Less than a minute later, the Polar
Bears cut their deficit to 7-6 on a stutter-step dodge and goal by
Matt Legg. Tufts took advantage of a Bowdoin slashing penalty, as
Hessler converted the man-up opportunity at 12:47 for an 8-6 lead.
Winkler cut it to 8-7 on a nice lefty tally for his third goal of
the game at 8:52.
The Jumbos got one back quickly when Hessler's post-up move
and score at 8:10 gave Tufts a 9-7 advantage. Tufts got some
breathing room later in the fourth when Clem McNally grabbed a
groundball in front of the Bowdoin cage and faked low to high on
Polar Bear goalie Jake McCampbell for a 10-7 lead with 3:36 left to
play. Winkler responded with his fourth goal for Bowdoin at 2:09 on
a sweeping move to his right, but the Polar Bears could get no
closer in the final minutes.
Hessler led the Jumbos' scoring attack with four goals and
assisting on another, as Molloy netted a pair and Witko had a goal
and an assist. Winkler led Bowdoin with four goals, while Smith
chipped in two tallies. Harrigan earned the win in net for Tufts,
stopping 13 shots, while his counterpart McCampbell suffered the
loss, allowing 10 goals and making 11 saves for Bowdoin.
