MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Leading 10-6 at the half, the No. 15 nationally ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team saw their lead slip away in the second half as No. 8 Tufts outscored the Cardinals 11-4 in the second half to defeat the Cardinals, 17-14, on Saturday afternoon from Bello Field. Wesleyan (9-3, 5-3 NESCAC) seeds their four-game win streak snapped while the Jumbos (10-2, 7-1 NESCAC) sit in sole possession of second place in the NESCAC standings.
 
Tufts, who came into play having scored a school record 32 goals on Wednesday in a 32-13 win over Bates, presented a challenge for the Cardinals as the highest-scoring team in the conference this season. Wesleyan did well to keep the Jumbos at-bay with just six goals in the first half, but a seven-goal third quarter explosion tied the score and another lobsided score in the fourth (4-1 in favor of Tufts) pushed the Jumbos out in front for good.
 
A back-and-forth first quarter saw Wesleyan score three unanswered in a span of 2:18, with Jake Sexton '22 scoring twice in that span, as the Cardinals led 4-2 midway through the first. Tufts answered with two goals just 10 seconds apart to tie the score at 4-4 but Sam Jean '23 netted an unassisted marker with 22 seconds left in the quarter to hand Wesleyan a 5-4 lead heading into the second.
 
After trading goals in the early going, the second quarter played out much like the first as Wesleyan went on a mid-quarter scoring spree, this time finding the back of the net with four unanswered goals to take a 10-6 lead into the halftime break. After DJ Dixon '24 scored his second of the day, Jacob Braunstein '23 scored right off the ensuing faceoff before Justin Hazard '23 finished off feeds from Matt Gill '23 on back-to-back goals to give the Cardinals a four-goal lead at the half.
 
The Jumbos' halftime adjustments paid immediate dividends as Tufts outscored Wesleyan 7-3 in the third including a 5-1 run in a span of just 3:02 as the Jumbos led 13-12. Hazard scored his fourth of the day, this time off a Sexton feed, to tie the score at 13 all heading into the fourth.
 
Even with Hazard's late third quarter goal, Tufts wasn't fazed and scored three unanswered goals just 2:02 apart in the opening minutes of the fourth as suddenly it was 16-13 Tufts. Hazard scored his fifth with 8:58 remaining that made it 16-14 Jumbos but two shots-on-goal turned aside by Tufts goalkeeper Conner Garzone, followed by three straight Wesleyan possessions all but put an end to this one as Duke Alf scored for Tufts with 1:27 left that iced the game away .
 
Hazard put up six points on five goals and one assist while Sexton added four points (three goals, one assist) with five ground balls. Spencer Robbins '22 dished out a career-high four assists while Gill, Dixon and Braunstein each tallied multi-point games. Nolan Collins '23 was all over the field, finishing with five ground balls and three caused turnovers.  
 
Wesleyan struggled mightily in the faceoff department, going 10-for-35 as a team, while the Cardinals also couldn't cash in with an 0-for-5 performance on the man-up for the game. After outshooting Tufts 30-24 in the first half, Wesleyan saw the Jumbos put up a 30-18 advantage in shots throughout the second half.
 
Camden Kelleher led the Jumbos with seven points (four goals, three assists) while Jack Boyden added two goals and four assists. Parker Merril dominated at the X with a 25-for-34 showing including 10 ground balls and one goal.
 
Wesleyan is back at home on Wednesday with a non-conference showdown with Springfield at 4:30 PM from Citrin Field.