MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — 2009 Division III Collegiate Club Champion/Division III No. 6-ranked Tufts University of the New England Division put any doubts about the outcome of its 2018 Men’s Division III Collegiate Club Championship opening round game at Wesleyan University against Division III No. 3 Grinnell College of the Heartland Division to rest – quickly – as the Jumbos stampeded to an 11-1 lead by the end of the first quarter on the way to a 16-7 victory.
Tufts, which has previously placed First (2009), Second (2017), Third (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013), Fourth (2014, 2016) and Fifth (2012, 2015) at the Division III Championship, locked up the program’s 10th Top Four finish by defeating the Wild Turkeys and earning a 9:10 p.m. semifinal date with the victor of a first round game pitting Division III No. 5 Bates College against Division III No. 4 the United States Coast Guard Academy.
In the first quarter, 10 different Jumbos found the back of the cage as Tufts raced out to a 9-0 lead with 1:36 left in the opening frame prior to Grinnell’s Alexander Lavery answering at 1:19 to move the Wild Turkeys within 9-1. However, although an elephant’s memory is long, the Jumbos wait to score again was not as the team pumped in back-to-back blasts with 59 and 22 seconds left on the first quarter clock to push its lead to double-digits at 11-1.
A benign second quarter followed as Tufts tacked on another pair to build its halftime lead to 13-1.
Grinnell chipped away at the lead in the third quarter by outscoring Tufts 3-1 to pull within 10 at 14-4 before achieving a 3-2 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter for the 16-7 finale.
For Grinnell, which will take on the loser of the Bates-Coast Guard opening round contest at 8:00 p.m. with a spot in the Fifth Place game at stake, Lavery led the way with six goals – including two in the third quarter and three in the fourth quarter. Peter Cipriano accounted for the Wild Turkeys’ other third quarter tally.
Historically, Grinnell has previously placed Second (2007), Third (2001, 2015), Fourth (2003, 2011), Fifth (2004, 2009), Sixth (2002, 2008, 2016) and Seventh (2013, 2014), as the team will have a chance to earn a shot at the program’s eighth Top Five finish as the Wild Turkeys’ can gobble up either Bates or Coast Guard.
In cage, Jonathan Flukinger took the loss for Grinnell with four saves, while Tufts’ Gian Marco Visani (So., Faenza, Italy) turned away six shots in the second half to earn the win. Sam Oakley (Sr., Cutchogue, N.Y.) finished out the game for the Jumbos with three stops in the second half.
On offense, Rica Generoso (Jr., Kalispell, Mont.), Ross Wood (Sr., Fort Washington, Pa.), Jack Amsbry (Jr., Pasadena, Calif.), Alexander Burnam (Jr., San Francisco, Calif.), Charley Sun (Fr., Andover, Mass.), Andrew Barber (Jr., New Haven, Conn.), Jimmy Parker (So., Lansdale, Pa.), Peter Gramaglia (So., Concord, Mass.), Logan Herodes (Jr., Falmouth, Maine), Gary Lee (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif.) and Izzy Frankel (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.) each scored once to account for 11 of the Jumbos’ 16 goals. Player of the Game Gabe Haddad (Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y.) tacked on a team-high three markers and Abe Massik (Sr., Corte Madera, Calif.) curled in a pair to rack-up the remainder of Tufts’ damage.
Overall, Generoso, Burnam, Sun, Massik, Barber (two), Parker, Gramaglia, Herodes, Lee and Frankel each scored in their team’s first quarter barrage as a tournament record 10 players from a team scored in the same frame to allow the Jumbos to lead from wire-to-wire.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Grinnell College | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 7 |
| Tufts University | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | 16 |
| Tufts Goals: | Gabe Haddad (3); Rica Generoso (2); Andrew Barber; Abe Massik; Charle Sun; Alexander Burnam; Jack Amsbry; Ross Wood; Izzy Frankel; Gary Lee; Logan Herodes; Peter Gramaglia; Jimm Parker | |||||
| Grinnell Goals: | Alexander Lavery (6); Peter Cipriano | |||||
| Saves: | Tufts – Gian Marco Visani (6, 14 minutes), Sam Oakley (3, 14 minutes) ; Grinnell – Jonathan Flukinger (4) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Tufts – 1 ; Grinnell – 3 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Tufts – 2-for-3 ; Grinnell – 0-for-1 | |||||
| Sprints: | Tufts – 4-for-4 ; Grinnell – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Dennis Kinne, Steve Sargalski | |||||
Grinnell College’s Alexander Lavery (#18) cocks to fire a shot
Tufts University goalie Gian Marco Visani
Grinnell College’s Camille Hill (#9) looks for an opening as Tufts University’s Neil Spazzarini (#20) defends
Tuts University’s Logan Herodes (#17) collects a loose ball as a Grinnell College defender pursues
