LEWISTON, Maine -- The Tufts University men's lacrosse team outscored Bates College 8-3 over the middle two periods en route to a 16-10 NESCAC victory Saturday at Campus Avenue Field. The Jumbos raised their overall record to 8-4, 5-2 in the NESCAC, while Bates fell to 2-5 in conference, 3-8 overall.

First-year attack D.J. Hessler (Monkton, Md.) had four goals and two assists, while senior Matt Caple (Wellesley, Mass.) had four goals and one assist and junior Clem McNally (Farhills, N.J.) also tallied four goals to lead the Jumbos' offense. Senior Connor Ginsberg (New Haven, Conn.) dished out three assists. Junior Matt Harrigan (Darnestown, Md.) came up with 15 saves, including 10 in the second half to stymie the Bobcats' attempts at a comeback.

Bates senior attack Bryan Frates (Woodstock, Vt.) had three goals and three assists to lead Bates' attack, notching career highs in goals and points. Senior Brent Morin (Hanover, N.H.) scored three goals. Senior Mike Medeiros (Concord, Mass.) added a goals and two assists and sophomore David Barrett (Chatham, N.J.) added a goal and an assist.

Sophomore Mike Droesch (Setauket, N.Y.) won 17 of 30 faceoffs for Tufts and scooped a team-high 13 ground balls.

The teams traded goals throughout the first period, and Barrett's man-up goal at the start of the second period tied the game for Bates at 5-5. But the Jumbos took the lead for good on an unassisted tally by Caple with 12:14 left in the second quarter, which started a decisive 5-0 run for Tufts, during which time Caple and Hessler had a goal and an assist apiece.

Medeiros scored on a feed by senior Craig Blake (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) to close the gap to four for the last time, at 10-6, but Ginsberg assisted on two straight scores for Tufts to put the Jumbos in control at 12-6 with 2:46 left in the third period.

Bates will play at Bowdoin Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

Score by Period       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Tufts University....  5  5  3  3 - 16
Bates College.......  4  2  1  3 - 10

Tufts University SCORING:
GOALS: D.J. Hessler 4; Matt Caple 4; Clem McNally 4; Matt Witko 2; Ryan Molloy 1; Brett Holm 1.
ASSISTS: Connor Ginsberg 3; D.J. Hessler 2; Matt Caple 1; Ryan Molloy 1.

Bates College SCORING:
GOALS: Bryan Frates 3; Brent Morin 3; Justin Simon 2; Mike Medeiros 1; David Barrett 1.
ASSISTS: Bryan Frates 3; Mike Medeiros 2; David Barrett 1; Craig Blake 1.

SHOTS - Tufts University 47; Bates College 38.
SHOTS ON GOAL - Tufts University 29; Bates College 25.

PENALTIES - Tufts University 4/3:00; Bates College 4/3:00.
MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - Tufts University 2-4; Bates College 3-4.

FACEOFFS - Tufts University 17-30; Bates College 13-30.

CLEARS - Tufts University 17-20; Bates College 16-22.

GOALIES
TUF: Matt Harrigan (60:00 minutes, 25 shots-15 saves, 10 GA).
BAT: Will Paddock (54:04, 28-13, 15), Hunter Mulligan (05:56; 1-0, 1).

2008-04-19