May 9, 2007
MEDFORD, MA - The Endicott College men's lacrosse team came just one goal shy of a miraculous comeback as the Gulls fell 9-8 to Tufts University in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA Division III National Tournament on Wednesday night in Medford, Massachusetts.
Making their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, the Jumbos looked as though they were going to run away with Wednesday's contest. The opening quarter belonged to the home team, as Tufts rattled off the games first four goals. Clem McNally (Farhills, NJ/St. Georges), the NESCAC leading scorer, found the back of the net twice in a span of just under two minutes as he beat Sean Kearney (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) with a low off-stick rip at the 6:40 mark of the opening frame to put Tufts up 2-0. McNally struck again with 4:32 remaining in quarter one with a nifty wrap-around goal that he snuck short side for the 3-0 lead.
Endicott's Nick Cosco (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry) finally got the Gulls on the board before the end of the first as he used a deceptive face-dodge and broke through two Jumbo defenders for a tally off Tufts' netminder Matt Harrigan (Darnestown, MD/Landon).
Tufts opened the second quarter with four straight goals as sophomore middie Chase Bibby (Marblehead, MA/St. John's Prep) scored a pair with McNally notching his third of the game sandwiched in between. After 20 minutes of action the Jumbos led 8-1.
The tide began to turn as Nick Cosco scored his second of the game as he sliced his way through the Tufts defense and stuck a crank-shot stick side high to make the score 8-2. Under a minute later, CCC Offensive Player of the Year Josh Gilbert (Simsbury, CT/Simsbury) cut the deficit to five as he took a feed from Brandon Dube (Danvers, MA/Danvers) and found the low corner with a side-arm shot. Tufts senior attackman Mark Warner (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading River) scored in transition to put the Jumbos back on top by six, however that would be Tufts final goal of the game.
The Gulls closed out the first half with late goals by Gilbert and Eddie O'Reilly (Beverly, MA/Beverly) just 20 seconds apart to go into the intermission trailing by four.
Endicott came out and dominated the second half. The Gulls out-shot Tufts 26-14 and won the ground balls battle 18-12 in the third and fourth quarters. After hitting three posts in the first 10-minutes of the third, the Gulls were finally rewarded as Cosco beat Harrigan far side to make the score 9-6 entering the fourth.
In the fourth it was once again all Blue and Green. Dan Cain (Billerica, MA/Billerica) scored a man-up goal as he took a feed from Taylor Wuenneman (Southington, CT/Avon Old Farms) and converted on a quick stick strike top-shelf to make it a two goal game. With 6:23 remaining in regulation Joe Gugino (West Hartford, CT/Conard) made a perfect back door pass from the top corner of the box to a wide open Josh Gilbert to make the score 9-8.
The drama and tension increased over the final six-minutes of action as both teams seasons hung in the balance and the importance of each possession intensified with each second that passed. The stage was set perfectly for Endicott to completely erase the 8-1 hole they found themselves in at the mid-point of the second quarter. With 45-seconds remaining and Tufts in control of the ball, Endicott goalie Sean Kearney shut his man off on goal-line extended and came up with the interception the Gulls desperately needed. The visitors pushed it the other way and Tufts, perhaps feeling the pressure, committed a late penalty to put the Gulls man-up with five-second left in the fourth. Endicott, without many options due to the limited time remaining, pushed it hard to the cage. Endicott's Nick Cosco looked to find a teammate back door on the crease, however his pass sailed just high as the final seconds ticked off the clock, allowing Tufts to escape with the 9-8 win.
The Endicott defense was remarkable in the second half, tightening up to hold the Jumbos scoreless over the final 34:45. Sean Kearney, who ended the evening with 10 saves, was able to keep his focus after his teams rocky start and turned in several point-blank saves to keep the Gulls close in the early going.
Tufts Clem McNally ended the night with three goals while Chase Bibby finished with two. Both Josh Gilbert and Nick Cosco notched three tallies for the Gulls while Eddie O'Reilly scored one and handed out two assists in the loss. ECAC Offensive Player of the Week Brandon Dube had three assists for Endicott.
Tufts University will now travel to face Centennial Conference champion and the nation's second ranked team, Gettysburg College on Saturday afternoon in the NCAA second round. Endicott finishes the season 15-3 overall, with all of their losses coming to top-10 ranked opponents.
