We came up short yesterday against the Jumbos in what was a hard fought game from start to finish. I really was proud of how our team competed especially on the defensive end, but unfortunately we didn’t do enough to earn the W.

We got out of the gate quickly by jumping out to a 3-0 lead off of goals from Erich Pfeffer, Andrew Conner, and a great dodge in transition from first year George Curtis. It looked like we were going to add to our lead but a few missed opportunities on the offensive end and a goal off of a failed clear allowed Tufts to get on the board and settle down. From there Tufts tied the game at three and we’d take turns at a one goal lead the rest of the way until the middle of the 4th quarter.

Both teams were getting good looks on offense throughout the game and both Ryan and their goalie came up with some huge saves. We ended up outshooting them 57-36 but had a rough day shooting the ball. Andrew Conner scored twice on 18 shots and David Hild had 1 goal out of 11 shots. We also had some other guys who didn’t put the ball in the back of the net when they could have. If we want to become a dangerous team come playoff time, we’ll need to finish better than we did yesterday.

We also had some unfortunate breakdowns throughout the game which led to some easy goals by Tufts. Credit them for taking advantage of a few situations but we gave them 3 or 4 goals by being aloof on the field. Let’s just say we need to be more aware of our surroundings and of the situation than we were yesterday. We’ll get there.

I do want to come back to the fact that our guys played a relentless style of lacrosse yesterday that I’ve been waiting to see out of them for some time. If we can continue to play with that type of intensity and fire, we’re going to be tough to handle from here on out.

Next up we have the Ephs coming to town on Friday. They are a much better team than their record indicates and now that they’re officially eliminated from the NESCAC playoffs I’m sure they’ll leave it all on the field.