OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Stevenson men’s lacrosse junior Tony Rossi, juniorColin Dabney and senior Glen Tompkins all posted career-highs in points while sophomore Dimitri Pecunes totaled a career-high 16 saves as the No. 5 Mustangs never trailed en route to a 15-9 victory over No. 3 Tufts Tuesday at Mustang Stadium.
Stevenson (6-1) evened the series with the Jumbos at 2-2 while extending its home winning streak to 16 and avenging last year’s 7-6 loss to Tufts at home on Mar. 19, 2013. The Mustangs are now 33-2 in three seasons at Mustang Stadium.
Highlighted by Pecunes, Stevenson’s defense limited the Jumbos to just 39 shots, 22 below their season average while totaling 10 caused turnovers. Tufts entered the game averaging 21 goals per game as well, scoring on one out of every three shots.
The Mustangs also held a commanding 47-29 advantage in ground balls in a match-up of two of the last four national champions.
Offensively, Stevenson had four players tally at least five points, highlighted by six each from Rossi and sophomore Stephen Banick. Rossi finished with three goals and three assists, tying his output in an 18-8 victory versus Western New England on Mar. 5, 2011.
Banick’s six points, which included a career-high five goals, were the third-highest of his career and the most since he had eight in 19-3 win at Wesley on Mar. 28, 2012.
Dabney also had a career-high five goals against the Jumbos. In six games this season, he has already totaled 13 goals and 16 points after tallying four goals and five points in eight games a year ago.
With five assists, Tompkins tied his career-high with five points as well, equaling his three-goal, two-assist performance in a 24-0 victory at Alvernia on Apr. 6, 2013.
Stevenson jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game’s first seven-plus minutes, scoring the game’s first goal for the first time in five contests at home this season. It was just the second time in seven games this season and first since RIT that the Mustangs scored first.
Trailing 5-2 after one, Tufts (4-1) pulled within one with 4:44 remaining in the second after back-to-back goals by Beau Wood and Dan Leventhal before Dabney, Rossi and Banick scored three-straight to push the lead to four with 1:16 to play.
The Mustangs stretched their lead to as many as six at 12-6 with 5:40 left in the third quarter following back-to-back tallies by Dabney and would never let it slip below four the rest of the way.
Cole Bailey finished with a goal and four assists to lead the Jumbos while Wood had two goals and two assists. Patton Watkins had 10 saves.
Stevenson hosts the Mustang Classic this Friday and Saturday featuring No. 6 Cortland, No. 9 Lynchburg and Nazareth. Cortland faces Lynchburg at 5:00 p.m., on Friday before the Mustangs host Nazareth at 7:30 p.m.
