Tufts Men's Lacrosse Finishes Strong for 15-12 Win at Western New England

SPRINGFIELD - A five-goal run from late in the third quarter until early in the fourth made the difference in third-ranked Tufts' 15-12 win at #18 Western New England in non-conference men's lacrosse action Tuesday afternoon.

Garrett Clarke scored a game-high four goals for the Jumbos

The host Golden Bears took their first lead of the game since 1-0 when Mike Jednak scored at 4:21 of the third quarter for a 10-9 advantage. However, the Jumbos scored the next five goals over a 5:09 span to lead 14-11 and never trailed again.

Senior John Uppgren got the run started with a goal assisted by classmate Garrett Clarke at 3:27 of the third. Clarke ended it at 13:18 of the fourth with an unassisted tally. Uppgren scored twice and Clarke had a goal and an assist during the stretch for the Jumbos.

Western New England had taken its 1-0 lead on a goal by Justin Bard seven seconds into the game. Tufts' Jake Gillespie answered 30 seconds later to initiate a four-goal run that had the Jumbos up 4-1 on Kyle Howard-Johnson's goal at 7:49 of the first. Senior Ben Andreycak assisted three goals during the Tufts spurt.

The Golden Bears rallied for three straight to tie the score at 4-4 on a Jared Ward goal which capped the first-quarter scoring at the 1:46 mark.

Howard Johnson's second goal of the game at 9:34 of the second ended a three-goal Tufts run which
gave the visitors a 7-4 lead. The Golden Bears narrowed the margin to two (7-5) as Bard scored with 24 seconds to go until halftime.

The Jumbos would get the first two in the third quarter by Clarke and Cam Irwin to lead 9-5.

However, the Golden Bears would string together five in a row to take their 10-9 lead. Jednak scored twice and Keegan Dudeck had a goal and an assist during the stretch.

After Tufts' five-goal run, back-to-back goals by Jon Bota and Dudeck pulled the hosts within 14-12 at 3:51 of the fourth quarter. Jumbo senior Conor Helfrich won the ensuing face-off and Andreycak scored making for the 15-12 final.

Clarke led the Jumbos with four goals and an assist, while Andreycak had a goal and three helpers for four points. Gillespie scored three goals and junior defenseman Tyler Olney recorded a goal and assist. Senior goalie Alex Salazar had 18 saves and seven groundballs.

Bard with two goals and three assists, Bota with three goals and an assist, and Dudeck with two goals and two assists led the Golden Bears in scoring. David Cedrone was 20 out of 30 on face-offs for the hosts and goalie Steven Kerr made 11 saves while collecting five groundballs.

Western New England finished with edges in shots (45-43) and groundballs (36-31).

The Jumbos (6-1) are home on Saturday for NESCAC action versus Connecticut College at 1 pm.

Western New England (4-3) plays at Salve Regina in Commonwealth Coast Conference action on Thursday at 4:30 pm.