Medford, Mass. - Nine players scored goals, including four by senior co-captain Sean Kirwan (Boonton, N.J.), as the Tufts University men's lacrosse team opened 2012 NCAA Championship play with a 17-8 second-round victory against the visiting Trinity College Bantams this afternoon at Bello Field.  The Jumbos (17-2) advance to the National Quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 16 and will host RIT, a 15-9 winner over Western New England in the NCAA Second Round today. Trinity, making its first NCAA appearance, finished its season at 11-7.

Tufts out-scored the Bantams 7-2 in the second quarter. Sophomores Beau Wood (Sherwood Forest, Md.) and Peter Bowers (Contestoga, Pa.) both scored twice in the period as the Jumbos turned a 3-1 advantage at the end of the first into a 10-3 halftime lead.  Trinity had scored the first goal of the game when junior Matt Cohen (East Lyme, Conn.) converted a feed from classmate Steve Manning (Tyngsboro, Mass.) at 12:37 of the first. Tufts netted the next three though, including senior co-captain Kevin McCormick's (Laytonsville, Md.) goal while falling in front of the goal with 35 seconds remaining in the first period.  The Jumbos capped a five-goal run with Wood's first at 9:50 of the second quarter for a 5-1 lead. Trinity's Rob Nogueras (Parkland, Fla.) made it 5-2 at 8:24, but the Jumbos reponded with a goal by Kirwan at 6:47 followed by a face-off win by senior Nick Rhoads (McLean, Va.) and his assist on Wood's goal 12 seconds later for a 7-2 Tufts advantage.  Bantam freshman Jack Castelli (Huntington, N.Y.) scored to pull the visitors within 7-3, but the Jumbos finished the quarter with three straight including Bowers from Wood with 13 seconds remaining. Rhoads won seven of 10 face-offs in the second and Tufts finished with big first-half advantagaes of 29-13 in shots and 24-11 in groundballs.  In the third quarter, long-stick Kane Delaney (Brookeville, Md.) scored for Tufts at 10:01 and Manning tallied a man-up goal for the Bantams at 7:55. The Jumbos won the period 3-2 and led 13-5 heading into the fourth.  Tufts would lead by as many as 10 goals, 16-6, on Kirwan's fourth from classmate Geordie Shafer (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) at 9:03 of the fourth. Trinity scored back-to-back goals for the first time in the game when junior Jeff Hebert (Cornwall, Ontario) and sophomore Chris Sweitzer (Wilmette, Ill.) connected less than a minute apart late in the period.

The Bantams, who had given Tufts its only NESCAC loss of the season, 9-8 in overtime back on March 31, were led by Nogueras' goal and two assists. Hebert scored a pair and both Manning and Sweitzer finished with a goal and an assist. Senior co-captain Alex Gottsch (Sparks, Md.) caused two turnovers and grabbed three groundballs on defense. Sophomore Will Benjamin (Garrison, N.Y.) was eight for 14 on face-offs and senior goalie Peter Johnson (Riverside, Conn.) finished with 11 saves.  Five players had multiple goals for the Jumbos, including three with an assist from Wood. Shafer's pair of assists gave him three points for the game. Junior defenseman Sam Gardner (Chelmsford, Mass.) caused three turnovers, while Delaney nabbed five groundballs and junior Matt Callahan (Acton, Mass.) took four. Rhoads won 15 face-offs and sophomore goalie Patton Watkins (Chattanooga, Tenn.) made six saves.  Tufts had a 49-33 lead in shots for the game, and also a 45-23 margin in groundballs. They have now won 12 in a row overall, 33 straight at Bello and are 9-3 in five NCAA Championship appearances overall.

box score