MEDFORD, MA (May 9, 2025) -- The No. 1 team in the nation since the beginning of the season begins its quest to repeat as NCAA champions this weekend, as the No. 1 Tufts University men's lacrosse squad will host the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Second and Third Rounds on Bello Field this Saturday and Sunday. The Jumbos are coming off the program's 13th New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title last Sunday afternoon, defeating No. 6 Wesleyan University 22-10 to finish a NESCAC Tournament that saw Tufts score 20 or more in all three games. Tufts will take on Rhodes College Saturday afternoon in the first game for the day at noon, while St. Lawrence University and Middlebury College will play at 3 p.m. in the other Second Round game Saturday. The winners will meet Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Third Round on Bello Field.
Game Details
Championship Website
NCAA Second Round
vs. Rhodes College (14-4, 6-0 SAA)
Date: Saturday, May 10, 2025
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Medford, Massachusetts - Bello Field
Live Coverage:
Live Stats -
Live Video
Tufts vs. Rhodes, Middlebury and St. Lawrence All-Time
The Jumbos and Lynx will meet for the very first time on Saturday afternoon, as Rhodes will be battling a NESCAC team for the first time in the team's history. The Jumbos are familiar with the other two teams coming to Medford this weekend, as Tufts and Middlebury have split their 54 all-time meetings dating back to 1956. The Jumbos though have had the upper hand over the last decade plus, winning 22 of the last 23 games including every home game since 2007. Tufts and Middlebury met in the NCAA Tournament last in 2010, when the Jumbos defeated Midd 11-9 to advance to the NCAA Semifianls. St. Lawrence and Tufts have played just once before this weekend, as the Jumbos defeated the Saints 23-12 back in 2016 in the NCAA semifinals. Tufts and St. Lawrence both competed in the 2025 Callum Robinson Mustang Classic, with the Saints playing right after Tufts on Day 2 of that tourney.
The Book on the No.1 'Bos (18-0)
The Jumbos have the nation's longest winning streak in all of NCAA lacrosse, having won 23 straight contests which is a program record. Tufts are one of just two undefeated teams left in Division III, as Tufts comes into the NCAA Tournament as the top seed as the squad with the top NPI figure to end the regular season.
The vaunted offensive unit has been stellar this season, as three players have over 40 goals coming into the weekend led by
Jack Regnery and his 60 goals. His 5.53 points per game are best in the NESCAC, while his 189 shots on the season are the most in the NESCAC. Regnery also ranks sixth nationally in goals per game with 4.00, while also ranking 14th in points per game. Senior attack
Max Ettinghausen has scored in each his last 36 games as a Jumbo, as the smooth southpaw is fourth in the NESCAC in goals per game with 2.67. Junior attack
Brooks Hauser and his howitzer shot have scored 43 goals this season, fifth-most in the NESCAC, while ranking second on the squad with 60 points.
Tufts ranks No. 8 in the nation in scoring offense with nearly 19 goals per game, while its scoring margin of 8.50 is ninth in the nation. The Jumbos also sport the league's top man-up unit, scoring on 41.7 percent of the opportunities with the extra man. Midfielders
Charlie Tagliaferri and
Garrett Kelly, both All-NESCAC First Team honorees, have combined for 60 goals this year while Tagliaferri leads the team with 23 helpers.
The offensive unit has been helped by having the ball more than the other team thanks to stellar face-off play, as All-NESCAC face-off man
Parker Merril is second in the conference and 29th nationally with a 65.3 percent face-off clip. He has helped Tufts to the most ground balls per game in the league, while ranking sixth nationally in ground balls per game with 44.11. Face-off partner
Victor Salcedo is also fifth in the conference with 4.61 grounders per game.
The Tufts defensive unit ranks a very solid third in the NESCAC with 9.33 goals per game allowed, which is impressive due to the high pace that the Jumbos play at. Senior All-NESCAC defender
Michael Ayers leads the team in ground balls among non-face-off players with 62, also adding 16 caused turnovers. Senior All-NESCAC First Team honoree
Joey Waldbaum has 18 caused turnovers and 53 ground balls to go with four goals, and
Logan Lee leads the team with 19 caused turnovers from his LSM spot. Fellow LSM
Ben Frisoli has 17 caused turnovers and 21 ground balls, but his ability to score in transition has been huge, as he has potted 11 goals this season.
Graduate student
Conner Garzone is one of the most experienced goalkeepers in the nation, and has started the last 62 games played for Tufts. Garzone is 57-4 in his career as a starter, and is playing some of the best lacrosse of his career coming into the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Casey D'Annolfo is looking for his second career national title at the helm of the Jumbos, as the 2006 Tufts graduate has an all-time record of 140-18 in charge of the Jumbos.
Others Coming To Town This Weekend
Rhodes College is making third appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and has won a game in each of their appearances after knocking off Transylvania in the NCAA First Round on Wednesday, 18-13. The Lynx have won nine straight games coming into Saturday's tilt with the Jumbos, their last loss coming against Haverford College 15-13 back on March 14. The Lynx earned their spot in the NCAA Tournament with a 13-8 win over Sewanee in the Southern Athletic Association title game back last Sunday afternoon.
Rhodes is led offensively by the 1-2 punch of Drew Litner and Andrew Murphy. Litner has a conference-leading 43 assists this season, while his 59 points are also a team-high. Murphy leads a group of five players with 25 or more goals, as he has potted 48 on the season. John Mori had 40 goals including a team-high four game-winners, while Drew Downes also has scored 37 goals. Jake Gobel has a team-high 174 face-off wins while winning 62.8 percent at the "X" as Rhodes has won over 60 percent of their draws this year. Nick Bilotti is the team's top defender with 88 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers at LSM, while Jason Rubinstein has stepped in at goalkeeper to make 79 saves following a season-ending injury to Charlie Herlocher. Rubinstein has gone 6-0 in net. Head coach Billy Cameron is in his first year at Rhodes, after a eight-year tenure as an assistant at Hampden-Sydney College.
Middlebury is coming off a 23-10 loss to Tufts last weekend in the NESCAC semifinals, and has alternated losses and wins since April 12's loss to Tufts. This weekend will be the third trip in under a month to Medford for the Panthers, who are making their 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Dave Campbell. The Panthers went 3-4 out of NESCAC play this season, including a 7-6 loss at St. Lawrence University back on April 8. They are also 3-7 away from Youngman Field this year.
The Panthers do have a very diverse attack, with five players with 20 or more goals. Billy Curtis has a team-high 66 points on 34 goals and 32 assists, while Patrick Jamin has tallied 22 times to go with 29 helpers. Cooper DeMallie is the leading midfield scorer, as he has 22 goals to go with 10 goals on just 43 shots on goal. Russell Thorndike and Logan White also have combined for 43 goals. Face-off man William Munroe has won 54.3 percent at the "X", while Hayden Kern has made 180 saves in net for the Panthers.
St. Lawrence has not played since dropping a heart-breaker to No. 3 RIT back on Sunday 11-10 in the Liberty League title game. The Saints put six players on the All-Liberty League teams, led by three First Team honorees in Bobby Wells, Caleb Torres and Charlie Miele. Miele led the Saints defense with 24 caused turnovers and ranked second on the squad with 42 ground balls. He ranked seventh in the conference with 1.41 caused turnovers per game. Miele and the Saints' defense helped hold opponents to single digits, scoring just 8.47 goals per game.
Wells, a force from the midfield, scored 25 goals and added 13 assists for 38 points on the season. He scored three game winners, six man-up goals, picked up 18 ground balls and caused two turnovers. Daniel Mahoney, Padraic Condon and Michael Marinello were Second Team All-Liberty League. Mahoney led the Saints on offense with 36 goals and 16 assists for 52 points. He scored two game winners, two man-up goals, picked up 35 ground balls and caused three turnovers. Mahoney ranked fifth in the Liberty League with 2.12 goals per game and sixth with 3.06 points per game. Condon won 210 face-offs for a .588 face-off percentage and picked up 134 ground balls on the year for the Saints. Marinello backstopped the Saints in 2025 and recorded 208 saves for a 8.53 goals against average and a .598 save percentage. Head coach Mike Mahoney is in his 28th season at SLU.
Other NCAA Second Round Action Saturday
Rivier at Bowdoin - Noon
Grove City at CNU - Noon
Ohio Northern at RIT - Noon
Scranton at Washington & Lee - Noon
Babson at Wesleyan - Noon
Endicott vs. Amherst - 3 PM
Stevens vs. Gettysburg - 3 PM
St. John Fisher vs. Ohio Wesleyan - 3 PM
Williams vs. RPI - 3 PM
Lynchburg vs. Stevenson - 3 PM
St. Mary's at Salisbury - 3:30 PM
Trinity at York (Pa.) - 4 PM
Denison vs. Dickinson - 6:30 PM
Illinois Wesleyan vs. Cortland - 7:00 PM
--JUMBOS--
