Teams: Men's Lacrosse: Schedule & Results

JUMBOS KNOCK OUT WILLIAMS 13-9, WILL HOST NESCAC SEMIS AND FINAL NEXT WEEKEND

COLLEGE MEN'S LACROSSE FINAL SCORE
Tufts 13, Williams 9

At Medford, MA
Sunday, May 2, 2010

Game Box Score

Junior D.J. Hessler became the team's all-time leading playmaker in the victory

MEDFORD -- Junior D.J. Hessler (Monkton, MD) scored twice and assisted on six other goals to lead the seventh-ranked Tufts University men's lacrosse team to a 13-9 victory over Williams College in the quarterfinal round of the 2010 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship on Sunday afternoon at Bello Field. Coupled with a 6-5 loss by top seed Connecticut College to #8 seed Wesleyan, #2 seed Tufts will now host the NESCAC semi-finals and championship game next weekend (May 8-9) at Bello.

The Jumbos set a school record for victories in a season by improving to 14-1 on Sunday. They built an 8-4 halftime lead with a strong second quarter, but the visiting Ephs fought back with a great third to tie the score at 9-9. Tufts was the better finisher, scoring the final four goals to get the win. Seventh-seed Williams' season ends with a 5-10 record. The Ephs were led by a goal and two assists from senior co-captain Richard Reuter (Ridgewood, NJ).

Hessler assisted on the first four Tufts goals as the hosts took a 4-2 lead early in the second quarter. They pushed it to 7-2 when junior Ryan Molloy (Setauket, NY) capped a four-goal run with his third goal of the game at 9:38 of the second period. Williams sophomore Mike Ryan (Darien, CT) scored with 40 seconds to go until halftime, pulling the Ephs within 8-4 going into the break.

Williams controlled the third quarter, out-scoring the Jumbos 5-2. They received goals from five different players to tie the score at 9-9 on a tally by sophomore Sam Hargrove (Wallingford, PA) at 2:48 of the third. However, Hessler notched the game-winner at 1:12 of the third, starting the 4-0 closing stretch that included another Hessler goal to finish it.

The six assists tied Hessler's career-high and also gave him the Tufts all-time record with 106 in his three seasons. He surpassed Bryan Griffin's previous mark of 101 from 2002-05.

Molloy finished with four goals and an assist for Tufts, while senior Jamie Atkins (Concord, MA) added a career-high three scores. The ground ball battle was tight, with Tufts winning 41-37 and junior Alec Bialosky (Moreland Hills, OH) contributing six. Sophomore Steven Foglietta (Oceanside, NY) finished with nine saves and sophomore Nick Rhoads (McLean, VA) won half of the 24 face-offs he took. The Jumbos recorded a large 46-27 advantage in shots.

Junior Matt Cranshaw (Atlanta, GA) and sophomore Tim Goggins (Pittsfield, MA) scored two goals apiece for Williams. Senior Stephen Vrla (Paradise Valley, AZ) made nine of his 12 saves in the first half. Junior Corey Jacobs (Somers, CT) was 14 for 26 on face-offs, while Hargrove scooped up five ground balls.

Tufts will play Wesleyan in the semi-finals of the NESCAC Championship next Saturday. Fourth seed Bowdoin, a 12-11 winner in overtime against Colby today, will play the winner of the Amherst-Middlebury contest that is still in progress.

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