GRIFFIN TALLIES 10 POINTS AS JUMBOS ROUT MIT IN SEASON OPENER

COLLEGE MEN'S LACROSSE FINAL SCORE
Tufts 16    MIT 4

At Cambridge, MA
Saturday, March 13, 2004

GOALS: T, Bryan Griffin 4, Mark Warner 2, David Taylor 2, Tom Mulcahy 2, Mike O'Brien 1, Devin Clarke 1, Drew Innis 1, Casey D'Annolfo 1, Billy Granger 1, Dane Carillo 1; M, Tom Hennessey 1, Jonathan Stolmeier 1, Stefano Young 1, Tyler Sorba 1.

ASSISTS: T, Griffin 6, Warner 1, O'Brien 1, Clarke 1, Doug Smith 1; M, Hennessey 1, Stolmeier 1, Scott Purchase 1.

SAVES: T, Luke Chicco 10; M, Christopher Ng 22.

CAMBRIDGE -- The Tufts University Men's Lacrosse team opened its 2004 season with a convincing 16-4 win against border rival MIT on Saturday. Junior Bryan Griffin (West Islip, NY), the returning New England Player of the Year, had a 10-point game with four goals and six assists to lead Tufts. Tom Hennessey and Jonathan Stolmeier each tallied a goal and an assist for the Engineers (0-1).

A goal by Griffin was followed by a score from sophomore Mike O’Brien (Concord, MA) to give Tufts a 2-0 lead after 1:19 ticked off the clock. The period remained scoreless until the 1:03 mark when Tech’s Scott Purchase set up Stolmeier for a man-up goal to cut the Jumbos’ margin to one. This would be as close as MIT would get as Tufts rattled off five unanswered goals in the second quarter. The Engineers eventually stopped the run when Stefano Young posted a man-advantage goal on a feed by Hennessey with 44 seconds left to play in the half.

The Jumbos’ offense continued to dominate in the third period, tallying six goals while holding Tech scoreless. Griffin had a pair of goals and assists while freshman Mark Warner (Wading River, NY) scored back-to-back goals in his collegiate debut. At the 12:57 mark in the final period, Tyler Sorba notched MIT’s first goal in 18 minutes on a pass by Stolmeier. Hennessey scored the final goal for the Engineers with 5:34 remaining. Tufts’ Dane Carillo (Windsor, CT) posted the final goal of the game as time expired.

Junior Luke Chicco (Merrick, NY) had 10 saves in the cage for Tufts. Christopher Ng made 22 stops in the MIT goal.

Tufts, ranked 20th in the pre-season national poll, next plays Eastern Connecticut College on Wednesday at Endicott College.

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