The second of two rare matchups between a Division III and Division I men’s program this weekend was all about the might of Division III.

Tufts, the No. 2 team in the Nike / US Lacrosse Division III Men’s Top 20, put on a show against Dartmouth, which was playing its first game since last March after having an even longer COVID-related pause due to Ivy League rulings.

Mac Bredahl had one goal and seven assists, Cam Kelleher had three goals and three assists and Bryce Adam had four goals and one assist as Tufts earned the 15-9 win. Dartmouth held the draw advantage 18-10, but Tufts was more efficient on offense.

Dartmouth, playing its first game since March 7, 2020, got two goals apiece from Henry Bonnie and Nate Davis.

The Big Green scored three of the first four goals, with one tally each from Spencer Warezak, Ben DiGiovanni and Peter Lapina. But the Jumbos responded by scoring seven straight goals to end the first half, taking an 8-3 lead into the break.

Tufts took its largest lead of 12-4 with 2 seconds left in the third quarter when Kelleher assisted Garrett Samuelson.

Dartmouth has one more game on its schedule, a Tuesday contest against Saint Anselm.

Notre Dame Drops Second Straight

After the Irish leapt to No. 2 in the Nike / US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20, they’ve now suffered two straight tough losses.

Mere days after losing an overtime thriller to Duke, the Irish fell to UNC 12-10. Chris Gray, William Perry, Justin Anderson and Henry Schertzinger each scored twice for the Tar Heels.

Anderson gave UNC a 5-4 lead just before halftime, but Will Yorke’s crazy one-handed wraparound goal knotted the score at 5 early in the third quarter. But UNC scored five of the next six tallies before eventually taking a 10-7 lead into the final period.

Even though Notre Dame scored three of the final four goals, it was too late to recover from the game-changing run from UNC in the third.

Rutgers Outlasts Michigan

As it’s been several times in 2021, it was the Kirst brothers who saved the day for Rutgers. Connor Kirst scored five times and Colin Kirst made 19 saves as No. 6 Rutgers withstood a pesky Michigan team to win 13-12.

Michigan held the advantage in shots (49-37) and ground balls (39-29), but Colin Kirst’s play between the pipes helped the Scarlet Knights recover.

Even though Rutgers led 11-8, the Scarlet Knights couldn’t put the Wolverines away. They came back to tie the score at 12, but Connor Kirsts’ fifth goal of the day with 5:37 to play was the winning tally. The defense held firm from there.

Nike / US Lacrosse Top 20

No. 5 North Carolina 12, No. 2 Notre Dame 10
No. 6 Rutgers 13, Michigan 12
No. 15 Richmond 21, Mercer 8

Other Scores

Tufts 15, Dartmouth 9