The men’s lacrosse team won its second straight NCAA championship and the program’s fifth overall on May 25 with a dominant 25-8 victory over Dickinson College in front of 25,228 fans in the DIII title game at Gillette Stadium. The Jumbos scored the first 10 goals of the game and did not look back.

Brooks Hauser was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the game after finishing with four goals and four assists for eight points, including seven points in the first half. The Jumbos’ 25 goals are the most ever in an NCAA Division III championship game, while the 17-goal margin of victory is also a record for the DIII final.

In addition to capturing another national championship, the win also secures an undefeated season (23-0) for head coach Casey D’Annolfo’s Jumbos. It’s the first perfect season at Tufts since the 1946 team went 8-0, and not including the Jumbos’ 4-0 start in 2020 before the season was canceled due to COVID-19. Their 23 wins matches the most for a season in NCAA DIII history.

This is the second time Tufts has won back-to-back championships, a feat they first achieved in 2014 and 2015. The win also extended the current Jumbo winning streak to 28 games. This was their third straight championship game appearance and eighth overall.

After Dickinson killed an early man-up opportunity by Tufts, the Jumbos grabbed a 1-0 lead following a turnover caused by Will Emsing at midfield. He picked up the ground ball and then assisted the opening goal by Hauser at 9:41. Goals 29 seconds apart by Joey Kraft from Jackson Redd and by Charlie Tagliaferri unassisted put Tufts up 3-0, and the Jumbos were off and running.

Tufts took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter. Hauser had four points (three goals) in the opening 15 minutes, while Emsing totaled a goal and two assists. The Jumbos won seven of nine draws (four by Victor Salcedo and three by Parker Merril) and had advantages of 20-3 in shots and 20-8 in ground balls at the first break.

The Brown and Blue kept it going to start the second quarter. Goals by Redd from Hauser and then by Max Ettinghausen converting a pass from Tagliaferri made it 10-0 at the 12:47 mark.

Dickinson built a little momentum at that point, with a goal by Landen Hyatt from Charlie Baughan, getting the Devils on the scoreboard at 11:51. They scored the next goal as well, with Ramsey Huggins taking a pass from Ethan Gess for a 10-2 score at the 9:07 mark.

A Tufts long-stick goal by Joey Waldbaum that was set up by fellow defenseman George Panagopoulos, who scooped up the ground ball of a caused turnover by Cam Delcristo, had the Jumbos up 11-2 at 3:43. Dickinson made it three out of the last four though, as the Hyatt from Baughan combo struck again for an 11-3 score.

But Tufts scored three more times in the final two minutes of the half—Hauser from Ettinghausen, Emsing from Ettinghausen and Ettinghausen from Hauser—to give the Jumbos a 14-3 lead at the break. Ettinghausen had two goals and two assists in the second quarter, while Hauser notched a goal and three assists.

While the Tufts offense exploded, the defense also frustrated the Red Devils. Jumbo starting goalie Conner Garzone stopped four shots in the second period and Tufts forced four Dickinson turnovers. Garzone and the Devils’ Rocco Bognet both had five saves total in the first half.

When Tufts scored the first five goals of the third quarter—two from Jack Regnery and one each from Delcristo, Tagliaferri and Redd—part of an 8-0 run overall, the lead ballooned to 19-3. Gess ended the run for Dickinson, but when Beau Keough scored with three seconds left in the quarter it was 20-4 Tufts.

In the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, two goals by Jumbo Garrett Kelly were offset by Dickinson tallies from Luke Whalen and Huggins. Following a Matt Thurston goal for the Red Devils, Ben Frisoli scored from Waldbaum for the 23rd Tufts goal, which broke the championship-game record. Callum Wood and Sam Frisoli for Tufts, and Gess for the Red Devils finished off the scoring.

Sixteen players scored points for the Jumbos. Besides Hauser, Emsing finished with three goals and two assists while Ettinghausen and Redd recorded two goals and two assists each. Regnery scored three times. 

The Jumbos went 22 for 35 on face-offs, with Merril winning 14 of 20 and Salcedo at 8 for 14. Panagopoulos’ four ground balls led the defense, while Garzone stopped 10 of the 16 Dickinson shots on goal (.625) in 52 minutes of action.

Tufts finished the game with advantages of 58-27 in shots and 53-27 for ground balls.