Posted: May 15, 2010
MEDFORD, Mass. – Tufts University sophomore Sean Kirwan (Boonton Township, N.J.) scored seven goals, one shy of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship record for a game, as the sixth-ranked Jumbos toppled Endicott College, 21-8, in an NCAA second-round contest on Saturday afternoon at Bello Field. The Gulls, who won just their second NCAA Tournament game in program history last weekend, end the season with a 14-8 mark.
Tufts, which improved to 17-1, advances to the NCAA Quarterfinals where it will host NESCAC rival Middlebury College on Wednesday (May 19). A starting time has not been announced. Middlebury won its second-round game at RPI, 16-8.
The Jumbos broke the game open with an eight-goal run stretching from 5:40 of the first quarter until 6:17 of the second. Sophomore Geordie Shafer (Rancho Sante Fe, Calif.), who had one goal for the season entering Saturday, scored three times during the Jumbo run. Kirwan scored twice, and senior tri-captain Doug DiSesa (Wynnewood, Pa.) scored back-to-back goals - one while Tufts was down a man - as the Jumbos took a 10-1 lead.
Endicott regrouped and tallied four goals late in the second quarter and early in the third to pull within 11-5. Junior \#Jack Curtis\# (Chelmsford, Mass.) scored two of the goals for the Gulls. However, Tufts stemmed Endicott's momentum by scoring six of the next seven goals to build a 17-6 advantage early in the fourth quarter. Kirwan's four goals, including three assisted by junior Ryan Molloy (Setauket, N.Y.), highlighted that stretch.
Curtis scored his second goal of the second half and fourth of the game for the visitors at 10:18 of the fourth quarter making it 17-7, but Tufts finished with four of the final five goals for the 21-8 victory. Junior Brian Donovan (St. James, N.Y.) had a pair of the finishing goals.
Ten players scored goals for the Jumbos, who had a 55-33 advantage in shots. Molloy, with a goal and five assists, and junior D.J. Hessler (Monkton, Md.), who had two goals with four assists, tallied six points each for Tufts. Sophomore Steve Foglietta (Oceanside, N.Y.) stopped 14 of Endicott's 22 shots on goal for an excellent .636 percentage. Junior long-stick middie Alec Bialosky (Moreland Hills, Ohio) scooped up five ground balls, senior tri-captain Mike Droesch (Setauket, N.Y.) added four ground balls to a goal and an assist, and sophomore Nick Rhoads (McLean, Va.) won 18 of 32 face-offs. The hosts came out on top in the ground-ball battle 42-36.
Senior co-captain \#Brad Lipkvich\# (Madison, Conn.) had a goal and an assist for Endicott. Junior \#Chris Cotter\# (Fairfield, Conn.) assisted on two goals. Senior co-captain \#Eric Hagarty\# (Sudbury, Mass.) recorded 13 saves and five ground balls in the Gulls' goal. Junior defenseman \#Robert Crossett\# (Katonah, N.Y.) was on the spot for five ground balls.
Heading into Wednesday, Tufts has defeated Middlebury twice this season. The Jumbos won 10-5 at Bello during the regular-season on April 24. Last Sunday (May 9), Tufts defeated Middlebury 13-12 at Bello to win its first NESCAC title. This marks the first trip to the national quarterfinals for Tufts, which improved to 2-2 in NCAA Championship play.
Release courtesy of Tufts University sports information
