MEDFORD, Mass. – Deadlocked at 11-11 after three quarters, the No. 20 ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team used a 4-0 run in the fourth before holding off the No. 4 ranked Jumbos late to secure a 16-14 upset win on Saturday afternoon from Bello Field. A monumental win for the Cardinals (8-2, 5-1 NESCAC) who move into second place in the league standings while handing the five-time defending NESCAC Champion Jumbos (8-2, 5-1 NESCAC) their first loss at home to a NESCAC opponent in 2,184 days (since April 14, 2018).
In a game featuring the league's top two scoring offenses (both came in ranked Top 10 nationally), all played out as expected with the two sides combining for 10 goals in the first quarter. Wesleyan opened leads of 3-1 and later 5-2 but Tufts pounced with a three-goal flurry in the final 53 seconds of the frame to tie the score at 5-5 after one. The Cardinals had five different goal-scorers in the first including
Joe Hurton '27 who netted his first career in transition coming off a faceoff win.
Play slowed down in the second quarter, as just three goals were scored in the frame as the Cardinals led 7-6 at halftime.
Conor Selfridge '26 was outstanding in the period, making six of his 12 saves in the second quarter alone, holding Tufts to just one EMO goal while overcoming a slow quarter offensively for Wesleyan.
Coming out of halftime, Tufts scored three quick goals to flip the script, taking a 9-7 lead early in the quarter.
CK Giancola '24 scored on the man-up, kick starting a 4-1 Wesleyan run with
Jack Raba '23 getting involved in the scoring before
Ben Burns '26 netted a pair to put the Cardinals ahead 11-10. However, another Tufts late-quarter goal, this time from Brooks Hauser, made it even at 11-11 heading into the fourth.
Hauser scored again, just 26 seconds into the start of the fourth, but Wesleyan proved up to the task as the game-deciding 4-0 Cardinal run followed. Selfridge started the rally with a save on Ethan O'Neill and
DJ Dixon '24 came up with back-to-back goals in just 37 seconds to turn a 12-11 Tufts lead into a 13-12 Cardinal advantage.
Selfridge again denied O'Neill early in Tufts' next possession on attack and Raba this time found
James Bailey '26 for a third straight Cardinal possession ending in a goal. As the clock wound under 10 minutes, Raba was involved again, scoring around all sorts of traffic in front off a feed from Giancola as the Cardinals took their largest lead of the game at 15-12 with 8:08 left.
Tufts pilled on the pressure late, getting a Max Ettinghausen goal and another from Cam Delcristo as it was just a one-goal game with 4:04 remaining.
Jackson Tinari '26 came up with a crucial faceoff win following the Delcristo goal and the Cardinals quickly called timeout to set a play up for Burns who went low to high for a crucial insurance goal with three minutes left.
The Jumbos won the next faceoff and after a timeout, fired four shots in a span of 35 seconds, all of which missing the cage. With the shot clock running low, Tagliaferri committed a costly turnover and after crossing midfield, Wesleyan took a timeout with 1:17 left.
Needing to just play keep away, the Cardinals did just that down the stretch, holding on for a 16-14 win in front of a packed crowd at Bello Field.
Wesleyan trailed in shots 48-38, ground balls 42-31, and faceoffs 19-13, but saw Selfridge make 12 saves including 10 between the second and fourth quarters combined as the sophomore goalkeeper played a crucial role in the outcome.
Leading the Cardinal attack was Raba who finished with six points on three goals and three assists. He needed just four shots to record his second hat trick of the season and the fourth of his career as a Cardinal.
Burns found the back of the net four times, giving him a team-leading 30 goals on the season, while he added an assist for a five-point game to match his season and career-high. Dixon finished with three goals while Giancola totaled three points (two goals, one assist).
Hurton totaled five ground balls and one caused turnover while Tinari led the faceoff unit going 9-for-21 with five ground balls.
After a big week that included two wins over ranked opponents, Wesleyan looks to continue their winning ways on Wednesday with a 7 PM start at Trinity. The Cardinals seek to avenge last season's 16-15 loss to the Bantams at home.
