MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — It is deja vu all over again as Division III No. 6-ranked Tufts University of the New England Division used a 5-2 scoring advantage in the second quarter to pull away from Division III No. 5/North Atlantic Division Champion Bates College, 13-9, at Wesleyan University in the semifinals of the 2018 Men’s Division III Collegiate Club Championship. Courtesy the victory, the Jumbos earn a rematch with Washington University in St. Louis of the Missouri Valley Division for the Division III National Championship after Washington claimed a 17-7 win at Middlebury College for the program’s fifth overall and fourth consecutive crown.
The 2009 Division III National Champion, Tufts never trailed as the Jumbos jumped out to leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the first quarter before carrying a 3-2 margin into the second quarter.
The second frame is where the game turned heavily in Tufts’ favor as Abe Massik (Sr., Corte Madera, Calif.) put away even-strength (6:43) and man-up (5:51) chances before Player of the Game Ross Wood (Sr., Forth Washington, Pa.), Jimmy Parker (So., Lansdale, Pa.) and Alexander Burnam (Jr., San Francisco, Calif.) swished shots at 4:30 (natural), 3:56 (natural) and 2:30 (man-up), respectively, to grab an 8-2 lead.
Bates chipped its deficit down to 8-4 prior to halftime, however, as Ryan Fisse (natural, 2:20) and Alexander Rolph (man-up, 46 seconds) put away bids.
Tufts got the goals back in the opening moments of the third quarter as Wood (5:21) and Gabe Haddad (Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y.) (4:10) delivered to make it 10-4.
Both teams scored again over the remainder of the third quarter as Ollie Penner (3:21) and Wood (2:30) tickled the twine to set the score at 11-5 going into the fourth quarter.
The Bobcats tried to rally back in the dawning moments of the third quarter as Kyle Crans (6:03) and James Calhoon (5:34) moved Bates within four at 11-7.
Haddad provided some insurance at 4:24 to make it 12-7, but Bates ticked off back-to-back goals by Rolph (4:09) and Penner (1:32) to pull within three at 12-9. Massik capped off the game as he buried Tufts’ 13th goal with 21 seconds left on the clock for the 13-9 final score.
For Tufts, which will meet the Division III No. 1 Bears of Washington University in St. Louis at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 28, for the Division III National Championship, received five goals from Wood, three from both Massik and Haddad, along with single strikes by Parker and Burnam, in support of a seven effort by goalie Gian Marco Visani (So,, Faenza, Italy).
Across the tank, Rolph (three), Fisse (two), Penner (two), Calhoon (one) and Crans (one) each scored for Bates as the team will take on Division III No. 7 New York University – which fell by a 12-5 score to Washington University in St. Louis in the other semifinal – at 10:15 a.m. in the Third Place game on October 28.
Charlie Nadel took the loss for the Bobcats with nine saves.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Bates College | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | – | 9 |
| Tufts University | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | – | 13 |
| Tufts Goals: | Ross Wood (5); Abe Massik (3); Gabe Haddad (3); Jimmy Parker; Alexander Burnam | |||||
| Bates Goals: | Alexander Rolph (3); Ryan Fisse (2); Ollie Penner (2); James Calhoon; Kyle Crans | |||||
| Saves: | Tufts – Gian Marco Visani (7) ; Bates – Charlie Nadel (9) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Tufts – 6 ; Bates – 8 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Tufts – 4-for-8; Bates – 2-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Tufts – 4-for-4 ; Bates – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | MV – Bates (Matt Engle, 2:40 left in 2nd Q) | |||||
| Officials: | Gabriel Maldonado, Steve Sargalski | |||||
Bates College goalie Charlie Nadel
Bates College’s Ryan Fisse (#3) lobs as shot as Tufts University’s Charley Sun (#8) defends
Tufts University’s Abe Massik (#9) throws a backhand on cage as Bates College’s Matt Engles (#7) and James Calhoon (#8) close in
