Box Score Medford, Mass. - Jack Rickards scored four goals as the Colby College Men's Lacrosse team opened the 2020 season at Tufts University, but the Mules fell to 2019 NESCAC Champions, Tufts University by a score of 24-10.
GAME NOTES: Opening the season on the road is a tough task on its own, but combine that with facing the reigning conference champion and its a bit steeper hill to climb. The Jumbos also made it to the NCAA quarterfinals last season and began the 2020 season ranked sixth in the country. Regardless, the Mules showed their mettle and stepped toe to toe with their hosts from the start and were tied nearing the end of the first quarter. Tufts eventually broke away, but not before Colby made its mark to start the new year.
HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE MULES:
- First-year Matt Rocha played in net for 54 minutes and made 14 saves in his first game for the Mules.
- CJ Hassan (headline photo) had 11 total shots, eight on goal, and two goals, second only to Rickards (photo right).
- Jason Baisley led Colby in ground balls with six.
HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE JUMBOS:
- Scoring was spread evenly across the Tufts attack and midfield, but Garrett Samuelson, Bryace Adam, and Nick Schanks led the team with four, three, and three goals, respectively.
- Tufts had fourteen different goal scorers on the afternoon.
- Kyle Helfrich led the Jumbos in ground balls with 15, while the team collected 48 total as a unit.
KEY STATS:
- Tufts had a total of 80 shots to Colby's 37.
- The deficit was much closer in turnovers, with the Mules edging the Jumbos by four.
NEXT MATCHUP: The Mules won't have much downtime leading up to their next game this coming Tuesday. Colby hosts Husson University on March 3rd at 7:00pm for their home opener.
(Photo courtesy of Calvin Wetmore '20)
