Tufts University netted seven goals in the fourth quarter and the Jumbos went on to post a 16-10 NESCAC win against the Hamilton College Continentals on Saturday afternoon at Hamilton's Withiam Field.
 
Hamilton (7-5, 4-5 NESCAC) had won five of its last six games going into Saturday. The Continentals will travel to Hartford, Conn., on Monday, April 25 for their regular season finale against Trinity College at 6 p.m.
 
Nationally ranked No. 9 Tufts (12-2, 8-1) didn't take its first lead until late in the second quarter. The Jumbos had all they could handle against Hamilton as they took just four more shots (51-47), won only nine faceoffs and finished with four fewer ground balls (46-42).  
 
Britt Defeo '22, Christian Byrne '24 and Tim Sommer '23 guided the Continentals with two goals each, and Defeo and Byrne added one assist apiece. Matt Mirkovic '23, Troy Pollock '25, Rowan Brumbaugh '23 and Jayme Wilde '25 chipped in one goal each. Pollock, Mirkovic and Justin Pearl '25 registered assists.
 
Hamilton's Kyle Mannherz '24 scooped up three ground balls and recorded a team-high four caused turnovers. Quin Crowley '22 won 12 of 14 faceoffs and picked up a season-high five ground balls. Hauken Washington '22 tied Crowley with five ground balls, while Cole Johnson '23, Brumbaugh and Wilde contributed four each. Seamus Fagan '23 made 15 stops including 11 in the first half.
 
Tufts was led by Camden Kelleher and Tommy Swank with their three goals and an assist apiece. Both Mac Bredahl and Jack Boyden recorded two goals and three assists. Duke Alf and Joe Murtha scored two goals apiece. Bredahl, Murtha, Kyle Adelmann, Mason Kohn and Michael Ayers scooped up five ground balls each. Adelmann contributed six of the Jumbos' 17 caused turnovers. Connor Garzone made 16 saves.
 
The final score did not indicate how competitive the game was. There were six ties and neither team led by more than two goals until midway through the final quarter.
 
Tufts scored for a 10-8 lead 89 seconds into the fourth quarter, but Pollock responded with a goal 19 seconds later and Hamilton was within one again. The goal was costly as Pollock left the game and didn't return.
 
The Jumbos took advantage of a Continentals turnover at midfield and pushed their advantage back to two goals with 10:53 left. Sommer collected his second goal of the game 41 seconds later on a feed in front of the net from Defeo and closed the gap back to one at 11-10.
 
Hamilton was flagged for holding and Tufts scored a man-up goal with 8:21 remaining. Swank's extra-man tally ended up starting a five-goal run for the Jumbos as they pulled away down the stretch.
 
The Continentals gathered the lead with 12:58 to go in the first quarter on a coast-to-coast goal by Mirkovic. Hamilton stretched its lead to two with 7:22 remaining on a Wilde goal that was assisted by Mirkovic. Boyden put Tufts on the scoreboard with 59.4 seconds left in the quarter.
 
Tufts secured its first lead at 5-4 with 1:56 to go in the second quarter on a goal by Boyden off a feed from Bredahl. Brumbaugh tied the score 45 seconds later on a pass from Pollock, and the teams went into the break deadlocked at 5-5.
 
The Jumbos scored 33 seconds into the third quarter and the teams alternated scoring goals the rest of the quarter. Tufts took the lead for good at 9-8 with 3:19 left on a goal by Alf.
 
Will Braun '22, Crowley, Defeo, Marc Welch '22, RJ Corba '22, Theo Karavolas '22, Matthew Anderson 22 and Washington were honored before the game during a brief Senior Day ceremony.