MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – In one of the most captivating and high-octane games ever seen on Citrin Field, when all the dust settled it was No. 1 Tufts who came out on top in a 20-19 overtime win over No. 9 Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon in a rain-soaked affair.
 
Tufts came out firing in this one, winning the first three faceoffs and scoring three goals in a matter of 1:11 to take an early 3-0 lead. A two-minute locked in major penalty on Will Emsing swung momentum as Wesleyan was allowed an extended man-up possession that resulted in goals from Gavin Lechner '27 and CK Giancola '24, G'25 to stem the tide.
 
The Jumbos held a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter and after trading goals for a few minutes, the Cardinals strung together a series of possessions to level the score at nine apiece. Giancola scored again before Ben Burns '26 struck for two goals in a span of 56 seconds, followed by a Will Miller '26 goal just 43 seconds later.
 
Tufts led 11-10 at halftime and hit the Cardinals with another spurt as four goals in a span of just under five minutes made it 15-10 Jumbos nearing the midway point of the third quarter. The Jumbos' lead remained at five, but the Cardinals proved once again they were not going away quietly.
 
James Bailey '26 hit the back of the net a goal that started a streak of five unanswered Wesleyan goals that ultimately tied the score. Burns scored two more goals before the end of the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 16-14 heading into the fourth. Continuing to apply the pressure to start the fourth, goals from Giancola and Burns leveled the score and had the home crowd reaching a fever pitch.
 
The teams traded markers for the next five minutes, including the first goal of the season from short stick defensive midfielder Charlie Wilmot '26 that made it 18-18 with just over five minutes left. A late holding penalty on Garrett Kelly was a costly one for Tufts as Burns found the back of the net for a go-ahead man-up goal as Wesleyan took their first lead of the game with 2:42 remaining.
 
Charlie Tagliaferri tied the game just 26 seconds later, setting up a wild finish that saw Wesleyan secure the ensuing faceoff only to turn the ball over to Tufts who took a shot in transition from Ben Frisoli that was turned aside by Conor Selfridge '26. Emmett Schillinger '25 grabbed the loose ball and after a successful clear, Wesleyan had a chance to set up the game-winning goal with the shot clock not a factor in the wanning seconds.
 
After an initial shot from Burns was blocked, Giancola picked up the ground ball and Jack Raba '23, G'25 ultimately found the ball on his stick with under 10 seconds to play right in front of goal. Several fakes led to what looked to be the game-winning goal with 7.7 seconds left, but the near side referee blew the play dead on a crease violation call.
 
Taking the ball quickly, Tufts nearly found the game-winner on the other end as Ethan O'Neill had a clean look at cage but his shot whizzed past Selfridge to set up overtime.
 
In the extra session, the Jumbos won the faceoff and had two shots, one of which was saved by Selfridge, but the ground ball was secured by Garrett Kelly behind cage. Kelly then turned the corner and slotted home the game-winning goal 1:26 into the overtime period.
 
The epic clash saw over 100 combined shot attempts in a high-scoring affair that saw at least eight goals scored in every quarter in regulation.
 
Raba led the attack with eight points on one goal and seven assists to tie a single-game team record. Burns finished with a career-high six goals while Giancola had five goals and Miller had six points on four goals and two assists.
 
Schillinger led the defense with five ground balls and three caused turnovers. Tyler Campbell '25 led the faceoff unit going 11-for-23 while Jack Doherty '28 went 8-for-18. Selfridge made 16 saves in goal including six in the fourth quarter in the comeback bid.
 
Wesleyan is back at home on Wednesday for a 7 PM tilt against Trinity on Citrin Field.