Armideo's Four Goals Lead Hamilton College to 10-9 Men's Lacrosse Victory at Tufts

Jack McDermott posted two goals and an assist to lead Tufts

MEDFORD - Junior Paul Armideo (Homer, NY) scored four goals as the Hamilton College men's lacrosse team opened its 2013 season with a 10-9 victory at Tufts on Saturday afternoon at Bello Field.

The Continentals (1-0, 1-0 NESCAC) held a 52-28 advantage in shots and got 13 face-off wins from freshman Nate Menninger (Newton, MA). Junior Bryan Hopper (Ridgewood, NJ) and senior Luke Walsh (Loudonville, NY) each added two goals, while sophomore John Zimmerman (Syracuse, NY) contributed a goal and two assists.

Tufts (0-1, 0-1) was led by a pair of goals from junior Jack McDermott (Medfield, MA) and freshman John Uppgren (Stillwater, MN). Junior Patton Watkins (Chattanooga, TN) was solid in goal with 15 saves.

The Jumbos' only lead of the game came at the 5:04 mark of the first quarter when senior Sam Diss (Ridgwood, NJ) scored for a 2-1 margin. Hamilton tallied the next four each by different players to gain a 5-2 advantage that they would not relinquish. The Jumbos closed to within 6-4 at halftime after a goal by senior defenseman John Heard (Greenwich, CT) with 24 seconds remaining until intermission.

Uppgren's second of the game at 8:05 of the third had Tufts within 6-5, but Armideo answered a minute later for Hamilton to make it 7-5. McDermott scored for the Jumbos a minute after that, but Armideo's fourth of the game started a three-goal run that gave the visitors a 10-6 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Tufts made a late charg, scoring three goals in the final seven minutes including one by senior Ben Saperstein (Hewlett, NY) to cut the gap to 10-9 with 33 seconds left in regulation. However, Menninger got his final face-off win for Hamilton and senior Matthew Hill (Medway, MA) scooped up the ground ball, helping the Continentals run out the clock for the win.

Sophomore Will Driscoll (Riverside, CT) made seven saves to get the victory in goal for Hamilton. Senior Mike Clarke (Dedham, MA) was excellent defensively, recording three caused turnovers and getting three ground balls. Zimmerman was on the spot for four ground balls in the offensive end.

Uppgren recorded a game-high five ground balls for Tufts, while Saperstein was one of three Jumbos who finished with three. Freshman Blake Wood (Sherwood Forest, MD) caused two turnovers.

Tufts next travels to Connecticut College for NESCAC action on Tuesday at 4:30. Hamilton continues a busy weekend with a game at Wesleyan tomorrow at 1 pm.

Game Box Score

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