With a 16-4 victory at Amherst, the Jumbos have won 18 straight conference championship tournament games, and now head to NCAAs
Finishing a dominating weekend at the 2015 NESCAC Championship, the Tufts men’s lacrosse team won its sixth straight conference title with a 16-4 victory over host Amherst College in the final on May 3.
Tufts, seeded second, had earned a berth into the final for the eighth time with a 23-9 victory over number 3 seed Middlebury in the semifinals on May 2. In the final, they opened a 10-1 lead and never looked back to rout a top-seeded Amherst squad, which had defeated the Jumbos 12-6 two weeks ago during the regular season.
Nine different players scored goals as Tufts (16-2) earned NESCAC’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
The defending NCAA Division III champion Jumbos received the number 2 seed in the north bracket and will play Emmanuel College in the first round. The game is slated for May 6 at Bello Field. The Jumbos defeated the Saints 24-2 last spring on their way to winning their second national title.
The other six teams in Tufts’ quadrant of the 2015 bracket are Amherst, Castleton, Middlebury, Montclair State, Bates and Keene State. If they are able to win, due to their number 2 position in the north bracket, Tufts would host through the quarterfinals.
This is the eighth NCAA tournament berth for the lax Jumbos and seventh in a row. They have a 17-5 mark in NCAA play, with two titles (2010, 2014), one finals appearance (2011) and a semi-final finish (2012).
In the final on May 3, junior John Uppgren’s four goals and an assist for five points led Tufts offensively. Senior Peter Gill added three goals while juniors Garrett Clarke and Ben Andreycak each had two goals with an assist.
Junior Alex Salazar was brilliant in goal with 18 saves, while allowing just three Amherst tallies in 58:22 of action. Classmate Conor Helfrich was a catalyst once again, winning 17 of 21 face-offs. He was seven for seven in the first quarter.
Tufts, which has won 18 straight NESCAC championship tournament games, posted a 55-44 advantage in shots. Groundballs were even at 39 apiece.
Tufts Sports Information Director Paul Sweeney can be reached at paul.sweeney@tufts.edu.
