Tufts Knocks Connecticut College Out Of Lacrosse Rankings

The Connecticut College men's lacrosse team closed out its season Sunday as Tufts University knocked them out of contention in the NESCAC Championship. The following information was provided by William Tomasian, sports information director at Connecticut College:

The third-ranked Tufts University men's lacrosse team scored six unanswered goals during the second half to break open a tight game and earn an eventual 12-6 victory over Connecticut College in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC Championship on Sunday afternoon at Bello Field.

The Jumbos (13-2), seeded #1, will host the conference semi-finals and final next weekend (May 7-8) at Bello Field.

Eighth seed Connecticut College finishes its season with a 6-10 record.

Senior Ryan Molloy (Setauket, N.Y.) had two goals and two assists during Tufts' six-goal run covering a 5:22 span from late in the third quarter into early in the fourth. Connecticut College had pulled within 6-5 on a goal by Mike Giambanco (Massapequa, N.Y.) at 4:54 of the third quarter. Molloy assisted D.J. Hessler's (Monkton, Md.) goal at 3:50 for Tufts, beginning a stretch that saw the Jumbos surge to a 12-5 advantage with 13:28 remaining in regulation.

The visitors had struck first at 7:36 of the first quarter on a goal by sophomore Stephen Eicher (Northport, N.Y.). The Jumbos tallied the next three, including the first career goal by Will Duryea (Beverly, Mass.). Tufts led 4-2 at halftime after the first of two goals by junior Sean Kirwan (Boonton Township, N.J.) with 5:09 remaining in the second. His 52 goals overall this spring are one shy of the Tufts single-season mark of 53 held by current assistant coach Clem McNally from 2009.

Camels' senior tri-captain Eric Doran (Pennington, N.J.) scored early in the third quarter to make it a 4-3 game. A Hessler goal, followed 13 seconds later by junior Nick Rhoads' (McLean, Va.) tally from a face-off win, put Tufts up 6-3 at 10:43 of the third. However, the Camels battled back on goals by John Lyons (Barrington, R.I.) and Giambanco to get within one before Tufts pulled away.

Molloy finished with two goals and four assists, while Hessler added three goals with an assist for Tufts. Freshman Patton Watkins (Chattanooga, Tenn.) was sharp in goal with 13 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter while Tufts maintained its healthy lead. Rhoads won 13 of 22 face-offs, while Molloy was also the team's ground balls leader with four.

Sophomore Andrew Berry (Moorestown, N.J.) was the only Camel scorer with multiple points, recording a goal and an assist. Junior goalie John Lenehan (Hingham, Mass.) finished with 12 saves, while sophomore Mike Brennan (Chester Springs, Pa.) was one of four Camels with two ground balls.

The game marked the final appearance of four Connecticut College seniors, who made history as one of only two classes to reach the NESCAC Championship Tournament in three out of their four years of play.

Senior tri-captain Eric Doran tallied 51 goal and 30 assists for a total of 81 points. Fellow captain Mark Mangano (Basking Ridge, N.J.) registered 56 goals and 27 assists to finish with 83 points. Ryan Hayes (Darien, Conn.) accounted for 73 goals and 73 assists for a total of 146 points. Dan Gallagher (Wayne, Pa.) won 56% of his faceoffs (97-of-174) while adding 23 ground balls for the Camels.

The Jumbos finished with a slight advantage of 42-39 in shots, but were on ground balls better with a 33-20 final count.