Springfield, Mass. - March 10, 2022 - Playing a nationally-ranked opponent for the third-straight outing, the Springfield College men's lacrosse team was toppled by No. 2 Tufts, 28-16 on Stagg Field on Thursday evening. 

The Pride, who was also receiving votes in this week's USILA National Poll, dipped to 1-3 on the year, while the Jumbos improved to 2-0.

Zac Schuette (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) racked up an eight-point outing with four goals and four helpers and both Chris Santa Barbara (Hillsborough, N.J.) and Riley Burgmyer (Somers, Conn.) each potted two goals and an assist.  Steven Betsch (Port Washington, N.Y.) was strong at the face-off "X" for the Pride, winning 25-of-42 draws and snagging 10 ground balls.  Dean Pesce (Monroe, N.Y.) was credited with nine stops in the final 30 minutes of action.

The Jumbos held a 60-47 advantage in shots for the game while the Pride turned the ball over 26 times.  Mac Bredahl netted a game-high six goals and Jack Boyden, Kurt Bruun, and Camden Kelleher each scored four goals.   

After Tufts netted the first three goals of the game in the opening 2:01, Springfield responded with four-straight strikes, bookended by a pair of goals from Burgmyer as the Pride owned a 4-3 edge at 7:33 on the clock in the first.  Tufts closed out the quarter on a 6-2 surge, with a marker from Mason Nocito (Mahopac, N.Y.) at 1:18 keeping the Pride within 7-6.

Tufts opened up the second quarter with five-straight goals as their lead ballooned to 14-6 at 5:30, but Springfield was able to net three goals in a 37-second span, with the last coming on a man-up strike from Alek Turi (Glastonbury, Conn.) at 2:58 to make it a five-goal game.  The visitors took a 15-9 lead into the half and scored the first three goals of the third goal to push the lead to 18-9.  An unassisted rip from Schuette at 3:17 pulled Springfield within eight 20-12, only to have another five-goal surge from the Jumbos that wrapped up early in the fourth put the game out of reach. 

Springfield's next game will come on a neutral field as it will clash with Endicott on Tuesday at 12 pm at Army West Point. 

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