Tufts at Stevenson: Three things to watch
In what should be a thrilling Division III contest, top-ranked and reigning national champion Tufts pays a visit to No. 2 Stevenson. The Jumbos have won their first three consecutive games. The Mustangs have won their first eight games, including victories over No. 4 Cortland, No. 9 Roanoke and No. 10 Lynchburg over an eight-day span. Here are a few factors that could influence the outcome at Caves Athletic Center in Owings Mills.
1) Press down on the accelerator. With an offense that ranks fifth in the country with an average of 16.5 goals per game, Stevenson wants to run and push the tempo. The Mustangs might get a willing dance partner in Tufts, which also has the athletes get into a run-and-gun setting. Cantabene said he is looking forward to a freestyle pace. “They will give us a much different challenge than Cortland did because they want to get out and run whereas Cortland wanted to hold the ball and throw it around,” Cantabene said. “And we think we play pretty fast as well. I think it’s going to be about who gives up more transition goals in this game. Both teams are deep and play a lot of people, so we’ll see.”
2) Don’t foul. Despite playing fast and aggressive, Stevenson has been quite disciplined, drawing less than five penalties per game thus far. That self-control will be especially important against the Jumbos, who have converted on 10-of-15 extra-man opportunities. That’s 20 percent of Tufts’ output. Cantabene said he hopes that percentage doesn’t grow on Wednesday. “We’ve just got to be careful with our fouls,” he said. “We have to keep our sticks and understand how the game is going to be called. We’ll see how it goes, and it kind of goes both ways. We’re about 44, 45 percent on the man up, so I think both teams don’t want either team to be on the man up.”
3) Attack the defense. The Jumbos return their top five scorers from last season, but have had to revamp the defense after the graduation of three starting defensemen. Three sophomores are starting for Tufts, and they will be responsible for limiting the Mustangs’ attack of seniors Jimmy Dailey and Richie Ford and sophomore Tyler Reid. On the flipside, Stevenson’s senior group of Evan Douglass, Ian Hart and Kyle Menendez has to contain the Jumbos’ starting attack of seniors D.J. Hessler and Ryan Molloy and junior Sean Kirwan. “I think the key will be which defense plays better,” Cantabene said. “They’ve got a bunch of new starters on the defensive end, and we’re pretty seasoned on ours. Our guys are playing really well and giving up just seven goals per game. So we’ll see. Whichever defense steps up to the plate and gets stops when it matters is going to win.”
Categories: Stevenson, Three things to watch
