MEDFORD, MA (April 25, 2024) -- The No. 3 ranked Jumbos of Tufts University will start its quest for a sixth straight New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title on Saturday afternoon, welcoming the Continentals of Hamilton College to Bello Field at 3 p.m. for the NESCAC quarterfinals. The Jumbos are coming off a 16-13 win on Wednesday night to earn the league's top spot in the tournament, while Hamilton has not played since last Saturday, a 13-6 win over Connecticut College.
Game Details
NESCAC Tournament Website
Opponent: vs. Hamilton College (8-6, 4-6 NESCAC)
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2024
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Medford, MA - Bello Field
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Low 60s, Chance of Rain: 0%, Wind: E 5-10 MPH
Live Coverage:
LIVE STATS –
LIVE VIDEO
Tufts vs. Hamilton All-Time
The Jumbos have won the last 10 games against Hamilton College dating back to 2014, while Tufts is 13-1 against the Continentals since 2000. The Jumbos knocked off Hamilton back on March 15 at the Mustang Classic, earning a 19-12 win in Owings Mills, MD. In that game, Hamilton and Tufts were tied at nine but the Jumbos tallied seven straight to pull away for the victory.
A Look At The Jumbos (13-2, 9-1 NESCAC)
The Jumbos come into the game winners in their last five games, while posting a 7-1 mark on Bello Field this season. The Jumbos have the league's top scoring margin, outscoring opposition by 6.40 goals per game this season, while the scoring offense is tallying 17.07 goals per game on the year. Tufts also leads the conference in ground balls per game with 41.27, and its clearing percentage of 91.1 on the season ranks second in the nation behind just Salisbury.
Tufts is led offensively by sophomore
Jack Regnery, who comes into the game ranked No. 10 in the nation and first in the NESCAC in goals per game with 3.86, while
Max Ettinghausen is sixth in the conference with 2.79 scores per contest. Regnery is also 13th nationally in points per game with 5.57, and
Brooks Hauser has tallied 38 goals to go with 21 assists. Junior
Charlie Tagliaferri has a team-high three game-winning goals this season, as his 29 goals are tied with
Garrett Kelly for fourth-best on the squad.
At the face-off "X",
Parker Merrill leads the squad with a win percentage of 61.3 while picking up a team-high 92 ground balls and
Victor Salcedo has also posted a 55.9 percent win clip with his 75 ground balls. Defensively,
Joey Waldbaum has caused a team-high 25 turnovers to go with 58 ground balls, and
Ben Frisoli also has 41 grounders and 18 caused turnovers. The group of
Cam Delcristo,
Kristian Rosario,
Ethan O'Neill and
Jordan Ito have been stellar at the short-stick midfield spots as well, combining for 15 goals on the year.
In net,
Conner Garzone just eclipsed the 500 save mark for the Jumbos on Wednesday, as he comes in ranked No. 7 in saves in the NESCAC with 164.
Tufts is in search of its 13th all-time NESCAC Championship over the next two weekends, winning every year except 2017 dating back to 2010.
A Look At The Continentals (8-6, 4-6 NESCAC)
Hamilton has won back-to-back games to end the season, defeating SUNY Oneonta 19-8 on April 16 before knocking off Conn. College last Saturday to end its regular season. Prior to that, Hamilton had dropped three straight NESCAC games though two of the three losses to Trinity and Williams were by a combined seven goals. Hamilton does have ranked wins over No. 18 Middlebury back on April 2, while knocking off Lynchburg back on Saturday, March 16 16-15.
The Continentals rank seventh in the NESCAC in total scoring with 179 goals in 14 games, while their 12.79 goals per game is fourth-best in the league. Hamilton is second-to-last in shot attempts per game at 42.07 per tilt, but is third in the league in shooting percentage as 30.4 percent of their shots find the netting. The Conts are also fourth in man-up efficiency at 45.9 percent, and also lead the NESCAC in fewest penalties taken with just 1:41 of man-down time per game.
Offensively, Hamilton is led by Thomas Healy and his 32 goals on the season, while Will Heher has tallied 26 times on the year. Frank Coyle has 22 goals and 11 assists, and Christian Byrne leads the squad with 19 helpers. Hamilton has employed three face-off players this season, going mostly with Reece Hickey and Sean Gebauer. Hickey is winning 52.5 percent of his draws, posting 79 ground balls, while Gebauer sits at a 46.7 percent clip.
Defensively, PJ Flood has a team-high 10 caused turnovers with 17 ground balls, and Johnny Oblak also has recorded eight caused turnovers to go with 22 grounds. In goal, Jack Fried has been stellar this year as he has made 157 saves and stopped 60 percent of the shots on net. Fried leads the NESCAC in save percentage, starting 11 of the 14 games for the Continentals.
Hamilton is 0-5 in NESCAC Tournament play all-time, as they are appearing in the postseason for the third straight season.
Other Games Around The Tournament
Saturday, April 17
No. 2 seed Wesleyan hosts No. 7 Trinity - 3 PM
No. 3 seed Bowdoin hosts No. 6 Williams - 1 PM
No. 4 seed Middlebury hosts No. 5 Amherst - 1 PM
Saturday, May 4 at Highest Remaining Seed
Semifinal Games – 12 p.m./3 p.m.
Highest Remaining Seed vs. Lowest Remaining Seed
Remaining Quarterfinal Round Winners
Sunday, May 5 at Semifinal Site
Final – 12 p.m.
Semifinal Winners
--JUMBOS--
