The Middlebury men's lacrosse team battled all the way back from an early three-goal deficit to tie the game at 10-10 in the fourth, but #1 Tufts tallied the final two scores for a 12-10 NESCAC victory Saturday afternoon on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium. Seventh-ranked Middlebury (2-1, 1-1) remains at home Tuesday with a 4:00 p.m. game against St. Lawrence, while the Jumbos host Colby next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

The teams exchanged early goals as Tufts' Jake Gillespie and Middlebury's Tim Giarrusso tallied scores 22 seconds and 1:14 into the opening quarter, respectively. The Jumbos rattled off a quick 3-0 spurt with goals from Ben Andreycak, Gillespie and Austin Carbone on a nifty, bouncing shot over a span of 1:50. The Panthers pulled to within two at 4-2 with 6:24 left in the quarter when Jon Broome fed Jack Cleary from the X for a head-high shot.

Trailing by a pair entering the second stanza, the hosts turned up the pressure in the offensive end with three shots. On the fourth, Giarrusso fired a shot from the right side that snuck past Jumbo goalie Alex Salazar, bringing Middlebury to within one (4-3) with 13:57 left before halftime.

Like the first quarter, Tufts put together a string of goals tallying four of the next five scores. Cam Irwin and Kyle Howard-Johnson each scored on bouncing shots from three yards away at 10:12 and 9:15. With one second left on an extra-man opportunity for Middlebury, Sean Carroll scored on a quick-stick attempt with 6:46 remaining from the right side on a pin-point pass from Broome.

Goals from Tufts' John Uppgren and Andreycak just 31 seconds apart increased the Jumbo advantage to 8-4 at the 5:04 mark. Winning the ensuing faceoff, Middlebury worked the ball around the perimeter before Henry Riehl scored via a helper from Broome at the 4:33 mark. Neither team scored over the final minutes with Tufts taking an 8-5 edge into the halftime break.  

Out of the intermission, both teams settled in and played a possession game. The Panthers pulled to within one (8-7) on goals from Kyle Soroka at 10:51 with a hard, low shot and Jack Gould at 9:29. Connor Bilby gave Tufts a two-goal edge with an individual move, dodging from behind the goal and beating Middlebury's Will Ernst just inside the near post. After a Tufts turnover in the final minute, Middlebury's Parker Lawlor raced in and fired a shot with eight seconds left in the third, sending the Panthers into the final quarter down one, 9-8.

Andreycak scored his third of the game with 12:13 remaining, giving the visitors a 10-8 edge, but a man-up goal from Jack Gould and an even-strength unassisted tally from Lawlor tied the game at 10-10 with 9:05 left. Just 20 seconds later, Gillespie dodged from the right side and found the back of the net for the eventual game-winning goal, while Andreycak tacked another on at 7:38.

The Panthers fired four shots over the next few minutes but couldn't pull any closer as Tufts took possession in the final minute and ran out the clock.

Gould, Lawlor and Giarrusso led Middlebury with two goals apiece, while Soroka added a goal and an assist. Broome paced the Panthers with three helpers. John Jackson won 15-25 faceoffs with six ground balls, while Lawlor, Carroll and Joey Zelkowitz each picked up four rollers. Seven different Panthers caused turnovers led by Harrison Goodkind with a pair. Ernst concluded his afternoon with nine saves in the Panther crease.

Andreycak scored four times for the Jumbos and three more tallies from Gillespie to go along with four ground balls. Bilby ended his day with a goal and three helpers. Conor Helfrich won 10-25 faceoffs and had four ground balls, Salazar scooped four off the ground to go along with 18 saves, while Chris Sawyer also had four ground balls.

Middlebury held a 59-30 advantage in shots and 32-27 edge in ground balls. The Panthers cleared 13-15 opportunities, while the Camels went 18-22. Middlebury was 2-3 with the extra man, while Tufts posted a goal in four tries.