Big news, Tufts Wins D3 title, again! Lynchburg started the game out hot, and went up 4-0 via plenty of face off wins, great shooting, and long methodical possessions. With 10 minutes gone in the game, it looked like the Hornets were going to be able to control the game, and continue to score goals. How things can change!
Tufts Wins D3 Title, 19-11, Over Lynchburg
Tufts started winning draws, and they pushed the ball whenever it made sense, and quickly put 5 goals on the board, to take the lead for the first time all game. Lynchburg had done well in limiting transition for the first run of play, but once Tufts got going just a little, you could see the tide starting to turn. Before long, that slight 5-4 lead had ballooned to an 8-5 lead, which grew even more by half, up to 10-6 in favor of the Jumbos. There were goals in transition, goals off of slow developing chaos, goals from defenders getting hung up… you know, typical Tufts stuff! And there was plenty of it.
If Lynchburg was going to win this game, they needed to start scoring again, but more importantly, they needed to win draws, and slow the game down, keeping total goals under 28, at the most. Tufts had other designs in place, and rattled off a couple more goals to start the third before Lynchburg could answer with anything. With the way Tufts was playing, the game was out of reach before the 4th quarter started, but Lynchburg never gave up, and the final score was 19-11.
Both goalies had good showings, but Tufts offense was consistently able to get to 5 and 5, and they often did so with the help of a screen or pick on the goalie’s left side. The overall movement on offense created those openings and space, and Tufts did well to exploit the soft spot of the Hornets’ D. This is all part of a standard Tufts game plan, and Coach Daly knows that goals on the crease simply come at a higher rate than goals from the outside when you make them a point of focus. When Lynchburg did crash down hard to the crease area, outside shooters opened up for the Jumbos and they took advantage with a bunch of goals from the outside. Many teams approach this from a shoot first, open the crease second mentality, but not Tufts. It’s an inside gamer’s world!
On the other side of the ball, Lynchburg did not draw enough doubles on the day to keep pace offensively, and the Tufts defenders were rock solid one-on-one. The Hornets were able to attack from X at times, and that was clearly the strength of their offense, but more often than not, Tufts was able to drive the attacker out and away before any damage was done. LC lacked a strong dodging presence from the midfield, and seemed stagnant on offense at times, but that is more a credit to Tufts on the day than it is a knock on the Hornets’ program.
Tufts played very well, and they played their brand of lacrosse to perfection. They played good D, had a good day in goal, won face offs when they mattered, and pushed the ball whenever they had the chance. The Jumbos put up enough goals this season to rival any offensive powerhouse team, and they won this game in typical style. Experience showed, a strong foundation for a program showed, and the fact that transition lacrosse is alive and well? Yeah, that showed too.
The stream quality for the game was OK, but I really do miss the days where this game was televised on the
