Competitive Field Converges on Tufts for Shot at Men's Lacrosse Title
Same Teams, Different Seeds from 2009 Semifinals
HADLEY, Mass. – Tufts University will host the remaining
rounds of the 2010 NESCAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship this
weekend at Bello Field in Medford, Mass. The second-seeded Jumbos
earned the right to host after eighth-seeded and defending NESCAC
champion Wesleyan ousted top-seeded Connecticut College in the
quarterfinals this past Sunday. Tufts and Wesleyan will meet in the
first semifinal on Saturday, May 8, at 12:00 p.m. in a rematch of
last year’s championship tilt and will be followed at 3:00
p.m. when sixth-seeded Middlebury clashes with fourth-seeded
Bowdoin. The 2010 NESCAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship
concludes on Sunday, May 9 at 12:00 p.m.
Tufts (14-1, 8-1 NESCAC) matched its best showing in conference
play this season with an 8-1 record and finished tied atop the
conference standings with Connecticut College. An 8-6 setback to
the Camels in New London on April 17 however ended up being the
difference between first and second for the Jumbos, as their only
loss so far this season appeared to put home field advantage
throughout the playoffs just out of reach. During the quarterfinals
on Sunday, Tufts owned a 9-5 lead midway through the third quarter
before Williams scored four consecutive goals in just under eight
minutes to tie the contest at 9-all with 2:48 to play in the frame.
While the Jumbos were battling to get past the Ephs, Wesleyan was
completing a historic win over Connecticut College. The
Cardinals’ 6-5 victory meant that Tufts was next in line to
host and the Jumbos took advantage of the opportunity, scoring the
final four goals of their game en route to a 13-9 decision over
Williams. The victory was monumental for the Jumbos, as it was
their 14th of the season - a new program record. Tufts heads into
the semifinals for the second year in a row with the top offense in
the conference, averaging 12.87 goals per game. The engine that
propels the Jumbo offense has been junior attacker D.J. Hessler
(Monkton, Md.). The two-time All-NESCAC selection is making a case
for conference Player of the Year honors this season as he leads
the league in scoring for the second year in a row with 64 points
on 28 goals and 36 assists, an impressive 4.27 points per game.
During Sunday’s quarterfinal win, Hessler tied a personal
mark with six assists and broke the team record for career helpers
in just his third season (106). One more point this weekend would
give him 200 for his tenure at Tufts (93-106-199).
Standing in the way of the Jumbos’ quest for a first
conference crown will be defending NESCAC champion Wesleyan (8-7,
3-6 NESCAC). Last May, Wesleyan captured the league title which had
eluded them over the past decade by downing top-seeded Middlebury
15-14 in overtime in the semifinals before overcoming Tufts 14-10
in the final. The semifinal win over the Panthers was the first for
the Cardinals in tournament history, as they had lost all four
previous meetings in the championship game. Wesleyan’s hopes
of repeating as conference champion looked dim just a few weeks ago
after a 6-5 overtime setback at Williams put the Cardinals at 2-5
with two weeks to play. A win over Amherst on April 24 (16-8)
guaranteed Wesleyan a spot in this year’s postseason field,
and a loss in the season finale at Connecticut College (7-5) meant
that the Cardinals would be returning to New London in two days for
the quarterfinals. Wesleyan proved on Sunday why the playoffs are
truly the second season, becoming the first eighth-seeded team
across all NESCAC sports to upset a top-seeded squad. Defense has
been the hallmark for the Cardinals over the years, and 2010 has
proven to be no exception. Wesleyan owns a 6.84 goals against
average heading into its weekend showdown with the
conference’s top offense, a figure that ranks second among
all NESCAC teams. Only once in the last nine games have the
Cardinals allowed more than eight goals, falling to Tufts by a
14-11 score. On offense, senior attacker Jon Killeen (Derry, N.H.)
leads his teammates with a career-high 47 points (23-24-47).
Killeen played a part in five of Wesleyan’s six goals on
Sunday at Connecticut College, breaking a 5-5 tie with 2:58 to play
with his first game-winner of the season.
Bowdoin (9-6, 5-4 NESCAC) almost didn’t make it back to the
semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years. The Polar
Bears were down by two with under a minute to play to fifth-seeded
Colby on Sunday but forced overtime by scoring twice in the final
19.9 seconds of regulation. In the extra session, Ben Chadwick
(Needham, Mass.) sent the rival Mules home with 2:26 remaining for
a 12-11 final. After opening the spring with a win at Wesleyan on
March 13, 11-7, the Polar Bears lost their next three conference
contests and stood at 1-3 following a heartbreaking 8-7 overtime
loss to Connecticut College on April 3. A mid-week 11-10 win over
Maine rival Colby put Bowdoin back on track and the Polar Bears
went on to win their next four outings - including its first win at
Middlebury since 1993 - before closing the regular season with
another overtime loss, this time at Tufts by a 14-13 score.
Statistically, Bowdoin ranks fourth in the conference in offense,
averaging 9.87 goals per game, and is eighth in goals against
average at 8.84. Hoping to lead the Polar Bears to their
second-straight win over the Panthers and possibly a conference
title will be the trio of senior Adam Tracy (Providence, R.I.) and
juniors Russell Halliday (Sudbury, Mass.) and Owen Smith
(Brunswick, Maine). Halliday currently holds the team lead in
scoring with 30 goals and 13 assists for 43 points through 15 games
(5th NESCAC), while Tracy follows closely with 24 goals, five of
which have served as game-winners, and 16 assists for 40 points.
Smith rounds out the group with 20 goals and six assists for 26
points.
Looking to return to the top of the conference mountain will be
the team with more NESCAC titles than any other program,
sixth-seeded Middlebury (10-4, 5-4 NESCAC). The Panthers have been
synonymous with the NESCAC championship over the years with seven
league crowns to their credit, however they have not advanced to
the final in either of the last two tournaments. There may be a
little magic in store for Middlebury this weekend in Medford, as
its last NESCAC championship came on the Bello turf in 2007 as the
sixth-seeded team in the playoffs. This season, Middlebury opened
league play with back-to-back wins over Bates and Wesleyan before
suffering back-to-back one-goal losses to Connecticut College (8-7)
and Colby (9-8). Following a 14-6 victory over Amherst, the
Panthers dropped their first contest to the Polar Bears since 2002
in an 11-6 loss on April 10 in the lone regular season match for
the two teams. Middlebury went on to win five of its next six
contests and heads into the semis with a two-game winning streak
thanks to a 4-3 win at Williams on Friday and a 15-12,
come-from-behind win at Amherst on Sunday in the first round. While
the Panther offense ranks eighth overall in the NESCAC at an even
9.0 goals per game, the defense is second only to Wesleyan among
this weekend’s field with a 7.21 goals against average (4th
NESCAC). In net, junior goalkeeper Ryan Deane (Grosse Pointe,
Mich.) has played nearly every minute of every game, posting a 7.15
goals against average, a .628 save percentage, and a 10-4 record.
Leading a balanced attack has been senior Pete Smith (Wilton,
Conn.). Starting all 14 games for his team, Smith has 34 points on
15 goals (four man-up) and 19 assists to go along with a team-best
54 ground balls.
2010 NESCAC MEN’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
Semifinals - Saturday, May 8 at Tufts
No. 8 Wesleyan at No. 2 Tufts - 12:00 p.m.
No. 6 Middlebury vs. No. 4 Bowdoin - 3:00 p.m.
Championship - Sunday, May 9 at Tufts
Semifinal Winners - 12:00 p.m.