Williams Upends Tufts in First Round of Men's Lacrosse Championship
Courtesy Tufts Sports Information
MEDFORD, Mass. - Williams junior goalie Michael Gerbush (Glen Head, N.Y.) stopped 19 of the 25 shots on net that he faced, and the Ephs out-scored Tufts 12-3 over the final three quarters, leading the visitors to a 14-6 win over the Jumbos in the first round of the 2008 NESCAC Men's Lacrosse Championship on Sunday afternoon at Bello Field.
Seeded sixth in the tournament,
Williams (8-5) advances to the NESCAC semi-finals next weekend at
Middlebury College, where they will play the top seeded Panthers on
Saturday. The Ephs were led offensively today by three goals from
freshman David Hawley (New Canaan, Conn.) and a goal with three
assists from senior Dixon Hargrove (Wallingford, Pa.).
Third-seeded Tufts' season is most likely over with a 9-6 mark. The
Jumbos were led by two goals apiece from freshmen D.J. Hessler
(Monkton, Md.) and Ryan Molloy (Setauket, N.Y.). Junior goalie Matt
Harrigan (Darnestown, Md.) made nine saves.
Hessler had a goal and an assist in the first period, helping the
Jumbos to a 3-2 lead after 15 minutes of play. However, the Ephs
scored four straight goals in the second period, including three in
a row by Hawley, to lead 6-3 with six minutes to go until halftime.
Tufts senior Matt Caple (Wellesley, Mass.) pulled the hosts within
6-4 with two minutes left and that's how it went to
intermission.
Williams picked up where it left off, scoring the first three goals
of the second half to lead 9-4 on a goal by junior Kevin Connolly
(Simsbury, Conn.) with a minute left in the third. Tufts was able
to score its only goal of the third with 18 seconds to go, by
Molloy, and it was 9-5 heading into the fourth.
Hessler opened the fourth with a goal at 14:11 and Tufts was behind
just 9-6. However, the Ephs scored five times in a three-minute
span, two by sophomore Richard Reuter (Ridgewood, N.J.), and led
14-6 just like that. With Gerbush in a zone, the lead was safe. He
came out of the game with 3:15 to play.
The Jumbos finished with a 46-33 lead in shots and also had an edge
in the ground ball battle, 32-28. The face-offs were even (Tufts
12-11) and the Jumbos capitalized on three of six man-up
opportunities. The win avenged a 7-4 loss to Tufts for the Ephs
back on March 15.
