Tufts Ends Improbable Dickinson Run, Wins Division III Title

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — On Sunday night, under the lights of Gillette Stadium, Cinderella took the dance floor hoping to keep its magic alive for a little longer. Backed by a massive section of traveling fans, Dickinson was tasked with adding another upset to its journey through the postseason.

After knocking off Salisbury, RPI and RIT, the impossible seemed possible. But Tufts entered as the heavy favorite, sporting a 22-0 record and a blisteringly fast and high-powered offense. Dickinson was upset minded, but for this Cinderella, while the game started at 7 p.m., it began to feel like midnight pretty quick.

Tufts exploded to an eight-goal first quarter lead, and the Jumbos leaned on speed, transition, and precise shooting on their way to a clinical 25-8 win. The Jumbos put a bow on their perfect season with their second straight NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse title.

The Red Devils made it clear early they’d rather play a slower game. Possessions were long and probing. They killed an early penalty and had possessions that used full shot clocks looking for high-percentage looks. But the run from Tufts felt inevitable, and about six minutes into the first quarter, the Jumbos found their stride.

Brooks Hauser broke the ice, and over the next 90 seconds, both Joey Kraft and Charlie Tagliaferri found the back of the net. Parker Merrill and Victor Salcedo both dominated facing off, keeping the pressure on. Dickinson stuck to its strategy of trying to work for quality shots in long possessions, but the Jumbo poles were disruptive and kept Dickinson uncomfortable. By the end of the first quarter, the rout was on. The Jumbos led 8-0 at the end of the first, with Hauser notching a hat trick in the first 15 minutes and six different Tufts players finding the back of the net.

In that same time, Dickinson managed just a single shot on goal.

“We needed a half-field game, they wanted a full field game,” Dickinson head coach Dave Webster said. “They certainly won that battle. I think we felt prepared for it in some recent games with RPI and RIT; they play that way. So, we knew what was coming. We turned the ball over early clearing several times, and each time it led to a goal. We had to be cleaner early on, we put ourselves in a big hole, and we got tight. We’ve been real loose all year, and it kind of snowballed from there.”

Things picked up where Tufts left off, as Jackson Redd scored a minute into the second quarter. A minute later, Max Ettinghausen scored his first to give Tufts a 10-0 lead. Landon Hyatt then put Dickinson on the board with a stepdown shot, but the Red Devils struggled to gain any momentum.

With struggles at the faceoff spot continuing to plague them and a rash of turnovers keeping the ball with the Jumbos, the Red Devils couldn’t meaningfully cut into the deficit. They did, however, manage to slow Tufts down by switching into a zone defense and varying looks. But like at the opening of the game, it was a matter of time until Tufts figured that out, too. 

Tufts continued to pour in goals, pushing the lead to 14-3 at halftime. The Jumbos continued to push transition, play with breakneck pace, and win restarts to create odd-man situations that turned into goals. A rash of unforced errors by Dickinson compounded the Tufts scoring onslaught.

“Starting on the first faceoff, trying to win that first faceoff, then that first ground ball, we were just trying not to think about the whole game, but just that next play mentality,” Tufts midfielder Cam Delcristo said.

Delcristo kept the pedal down to start the third, scoring two minutes into the frame. The Jumbos shut Dickinson out for nearly the entire quarter before Ethan Gess scored with 33 seconds left in the frame. Tufts added six more goals to its own total, securing a 20-4 lead at the end of the third.

Tufts was well on its way to securing the crown, and doing it in Gillette Stadium was extra special.

“It’s incredible. Knowing that this is a place that we haven’t had a chance to win a national championship in the history of the program,” head coach Casey D’Annolfo said. “With this senior group, and you add to that Joey Kraft, senior on the team capping off his college career here. It’s pretty cool.”

Ramsey Huggins and Luke Whalen found the back of the net with great individual efforts for Dickinson early in the fourth quarter. Matt Thurston scored a highlight diving goal from X, energizing the giant Dickinson fan section that stayed for the duration of the game. But nobody was stopping the Jumbos. They hit cruise control for the fourth quarter.

Ben Frisoli’s pole goal was a record-setter for Tufts — its 23rd goal of the game to set a Division III championship game record.

The Dickinson fan section’s dedication to the team was a story in and of itself; a testament to how far the program has come.

“As the bus pulled in today, to see hundreds of people all dressed in red, screaming and going crazy, it was a really cool experience for us,” senior Capp Reynolds said.

“We turned the corner on the bus, and we come into this sea of red,” Webster said. “There were hundreds of people. I had to fight back tears and show some composure for our guys. That was 24 years of former players and their families back to support what we all built together, it was amazing.”

Hauser led all Tufts scorers with four goals and four assists. Jack Regnery and Kelly each had hat tricks, while Ettinghausen, Emsing, Redd and Tagliaferri had two goals. Waldbaum, Ben Frisoli, Sam Frisoli, Delcristo, Keough, Kraft and Wood had a goal each.

For all that output, preparation wasn’t easy. Tufts and Dickinson haven’t met before and have very few common opponents. Even getting film proved difficult.

“They’re a pretty complete team, and to go on the run they went on speaks a lot to the culture, to their program, to their coaching staff and their players,” D’Annolfo said “[Assistant coach Stephen Toomy] does a tremendous job cutting up film, and we called as many people that would talk to us. Coach Webby’s got a lot of allies out there.”

Hyatt and Gess had three points each for Dickinson on two goals and an assist. Huggins had a pair of goals, Whalen and Thurston each had a goal and Baughan had two assists. Luke Devlin and Jack Murphy chipped in an assist each.

The win completes a perfect 23-0 season for Tufts, secures back-to-back championships, and extends a program winning streak to 28 games. The final score set a record for goals in a title game across all divisions with 25 and the largest margin of victory in a Division III title game at 17.

The margin is tied for the largest margin ever in a title game across all divisions. Of the 25 goals, 17 were assisted. The senior class graduates with an 82-7 record and two titles, but Tufts isn’t going anywhere. This Jumbos team will reload on offense for 2026. They had seven players with over 30 points this year, and five of those players will be back next spring.

The goal was never to go undefeated, though.

“The cool thing for us is we never talked about being perfect. We’ll never ask you to be perfect, we just want you to be tough,” D’Annolfo said, “And I think it’s a perfect ending because they really earned it. We’re really grateful for that, and we’re going to enjoy it.”