JUMBOS MOVE INTO SECOND PLACE TIE WITH 7-6 WIN AT WILLIAMS

COLLEGE MEN'S LACROSSE FINAL SCORE
Tufts 7    Williams 6

At Williamstown, MA
Monday, April 21, 2003

Goals: T, Bryan Griffin 2, Matt Malatesta 2, David Taylor 1, Devin Clarke 1, Dan Kramer 1; W, Scott Wilbur 3, Jeff Wilbur 1, Chris Hayes 1, James Lee 1.

Assists: T, Clarke 2, Griffin, Taylor; W, Tim Pingree 1, Andrew Layng.

Saves: T, Luke Chicco 16; W, Matt Rade 17.

WILLIAMSTOWN -- The visiting Tufts Men's Lacrosse team built a 7-3 lead in the third quarter at Williams on Monday and held on for a critical 7-6 NESCAC victory. The Jumbos (8-3, 5-2 NESCAC) moved into a second-place tie with Amherst and Wesleyan in the fight for one of three home berths in the first round of the conference playoffs that start on Sunday (Apr. 27).

Tufts scored four second quarter goals to lead 5-2 at the break. With the game tied at 1-1 following the first quarter, three straight goals within three minutes by senior Dan Kramer (Los Angeles, CA), sophomore Bryan Griffin (West Islip, NY) and sophomore Devin Clarke (Ridgewood, NJ) put Tufts ahead 4-1 at 7:21 of the second. When Williams junior Scott Wilbur stopped the surge at 4:47, Jumbo junior Matt Malatesta (Winchester, MA) reinstated the three-goal lead by scoring just 11 seconds later.

The same scenario occurred in the third when Williams freshman James Lee pulled the Ephs within 5-3 at 7:11, then Malatesta scored only 10 seconds later to make it 6-3. When sophomore David Taylor (Burke, VA) scored with an assist from Griffin at 4:06 of the third, Tufts had its biggest lead of the game at 7-3. That was the last goal the Jumbos would score on the day.

Williams was able to cut the margin to 7-5 on goals by Scott Wilbur and his younger brother Jeff Wilbur by the end of the third quarter. Senior Chris Hayes cut the deficit to one goal, 7-6, by scoring at 1:45 of the fourth quarter, setting up a tense 105 seconds until the final horn. The Ephs had one last possession to try and force OT. They called timeout with 6.4 seconds to play and set up an isolation play for Scott Wilbur, but he was unable to get a good shot off.

Chicco finished with 16 saves, eight in each half. Matt Rade was terrific in goal for Williams, making 17 saves including three point-blank stops in a man-down situation late in the fourth quarter. Griffin and Malatesta both scored twice for Tufts, while Scott Wilbur was the game-high scorer with three.

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