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NCAA MENâ€™S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP

May 29, 2016

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Salisbury 14, Tufts 13

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined on stage by Mike Daly, head coach of the Tufts University Jumbos, and student-athletes John Uppgren, Zach Richman and Jake Gillespie. We'll start with an opening statement from Coach Daly and then take questions from the student-athletes.

COACH DALY: It's a bittersweet moment to be sitting here obviously. Really hats off to Salisbury, their coaching staff, their players. They made a lot of plays out there today. They made more plays than us, and I think all the credit goes to them.

I am equally as proud of our team, our seniors. They never gave up, they never gave in. There were a lot of opportunities at that point. And they just hung in there like they have all year long, our seniors, have like they have for four years.

It was an unbelievable standard set by our previous seniors. And to have our seniors this year stand up to that, take it all and exceed that standard that I have and that this program has is one of the more amazing performances of toughness that I've seen out of college students.

So really proud of this team. Hats off to Salisbury and Coach Berkman. And we'll get back to work. Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. John, what are you guys thinking at 12-4 there? You'd been outscored 12-to-1, and looked like nothing was going right.
JOHN UPPGREN: Just get the next -- win the next faceoffs, get the next ground ball, score the next goal. There's no 12-point goals. We just needed one. And that was our mentality the whole second half was we just need to get the next one. And giving Salisbury credit, they had one more than us at the end. So that's all that matters.

COACH DALY: That last play was that -- what happened there?

JOHN UPPGREN: Ken made the save.

COACH DALY: Great opportunities, great looks. That's all we need to say.

Q. What did you guys tell each other when you were down and were able to come away with that run? Almost felt like it was two different games.
ZACH RICHMAN: Seniors have been great leaders all year. They instilled everything this program is about in this team. And we just had a mentality about getting the next one and focusing on one ground ball, one goal, one shot, like John said, one save.

Our defense played tough all day. We knew they would create stops in the second half, and we just had to put the ball in the net, and we came up one short. And all the credit goes to Salisbury. They had one more than us. But we didn't have any quit in this team all season. We were down all year. We kept fighting all season. We just didn't have it today.

Q. John, could you maybe talk a little bit about the system that Coach Daly has put in place to allow you guys to develop over the course of your careers? Obviously Tufts has a pretty good thing going and you're known as a powerhouse and rightly so. Maybe if you could just talk about what you guys are doing in practice from the time somebody comes into the program to the time you leave to try to get better as players?
JOHN UPPGREN: I just focus on, you know, Coach Daly does a great job of recruiting tough guys and emphasizes the fundamentals and hard work every day. And just love lacrosse. Those are the three things -- toughness, work ethic and loving lacrosse. That's all he ever asks of us.

He's a great coach. I've learned a lot the last four years. Everyone loves playing for him. So every day the two best hours of your day. So that really helps build a culture that we have, I think. It's a lot of fun.

Q. (Question off microphone)?
JOHN UPPGREN: I mean I personally had a couple that I should have probably buried, and then they go down and score. So that's two-goal swing. I think they capitalized their opportunities and we didn't make enough plays. And so they were able to go on their run there.

Q. I'm curious, what was the locker room like, I guess, at the half? You guys came out with such fire and went on such a run. What were you thinking and what were you saying? And what led to that burst about halfway through the third quarter there?
JAKE GILLESPIE: I think the attitude started with this is the last half an hour of competitive lacrosse that our seniors are going to play. And our culture is we love lacrosse. We would do anything for our team. So that started building our excitement and energy, and we came out looking to just make one play, one goal at a time.

Q. John and Zach, obviously you guys got off to pretty fast starts the last couple of games. What specifically was it about the Salisbury defense that made it tough for them to crack until the third quarter when you went on that run?
JOHN UPPGREN: They played well around, I thought. They were sliding. They were getting doubles. They were affecting our passes, which made it tough. Their goalie's making a lot of saves.

ZACH RICHMAN: All the credit to Salisbury. They made it tough on us. The whole game really was their goalie making saves and we didn't bury opportunities. And they got it.

Q. (Question off microphone)?
ZACH RICHMAN: All 15 seniors this year did an incredible job of just (indiscernible). They're all leaders in their own way, on the field and off the field, just instilled so much on what this program was built on. And I think it's going to be a tough act to follow but I know our underclassmen learned a lot through the season from these seniors and definitely in this game. Just going to try and carry it over to next year and hopefully end up back here with a better result.

Q. What did you see going -- while you're driving to the goal and trying to get that shot past Reymann?
JOHN UPPGREN: It was actually a feed from behind. I just tried to quick stick it in and he saved it. It was pretty bang-bang.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach.

Q. Obviously a two-part question: The long drought of 20 minutes, how surprising was that considering that probably hasn't happened to you in about five years to your team. Then the dramatic comeback of scoring seven unanswered goals to get back into the game. Can you talk about that change of events?
COACH DALY: I mean, I don't want to dodge the question too, too much but it's a simple game. It's throw the ball in the net or they throw the ball in the net.

And we had our opportunities. And it seemed like every time we had one they made the play on their end. It went down the other end and the same thing. They made the play; three threw the ball in the net. And that's as simple as we try to make it for our guys.

It's a player's game. It's a 60-minute game. So 20 minutes here, 20 minutes there doesn't bother me. It doesn't even enter our mentality. We came to play 60 minutes. We came up a little bit short. But as I said, I think that's more credit to Salisbury than anything that our players didn't do, so to speak.

Q. (Question off microphone)?
COACH DALY: No, not worried at all. This team has as much heart, as much guts as any team we've ever had. I never doubted them. That's why it hurts so bad, sending those seniors out that way. They don't deserve that. And we as coaches have to eat that loss and the players did everything we asked of them. And wish we could have given them a better send-off.

Q. I know you said it's a simple game. Is there anything that Salisbury did today that you didn't expect coming in?
COACH DALY: No. No, not at all. Obviously we knew they were a well-coached team. We know they're a talented team. They were ranked higher than us. They have more All-Americans than us. They have a better record than us. It was what it was.

It was a pretty good heavyweight fight and they had one more punch than we had.

Q. Playing Salisbury two years ago, did that help you prep for them going into today's game, or does that not matter considering it was two years ago?
COACH DALY: Yeah, I mean every year is different and you move one guy, two guys, just even from a leadership standpoint it's different. So I don't really think it played too much of a factor, other than they're a darned good team who is going to be there every year and we're a darned good team and expect to be there every year. So I think it was a pretty good heavyweight fight. Proud of our team, proud of our seniors. Wish we could have, as I said, done better by them.

Q. In that seven-goal run you had in the third quarter how big was Conor Helfrich in what you wanted to get there, getting the extra possessions, and how big has he been in this postseason run you've had?
COACH DALY: Huge, obviously. He's a warrior. He's been a warrior throughout this tournament. He put our team in a position to win the game on multiple occasions. And I think Conor is a great reflection of our senior class and just how tough he was, how hard he competed. That's our standard. That's our expectation.

Q. Can you talk about your philosophy of player development, and maybe do so through the scope of John Uppgren and the course of his career and the kind of player he became, where he was and where he is now and how he got better as a player?
COACH DALY: Thank you for asking that. I mean, John Uppgren has not missed a practice in four years. I don't even know if he's been in the training room. Sorry. He's a warrior. Credit is all his. I enjoyed coaching him. I loved watching him. He's a great reflection of our program and toughness, and as I said that's where my pain is right now. I just wish we could have given him the result he deserved and the seniors deserved and this team deserved.

He's one hell of a player. He's one hell of a kid. And it's a privilege to do what I do, where I get to do it and the kids that I get to do it with. Thank you for asking that question.

Q. Following the legacy of this group, two championships and a second and what it's meant for the school, for you, for them, and that whole part of it?
COACH DALY: I mean, my job is not necessarily to think about that in the global sense. We recruit great kids, thanks to Tufts University and everything that it has to offer. They come in. They work their tails off. They're involved in a competitive culture academically, athletically, and it's just a joy to watch those kids do it.

We try to stay out of their way as much as possible. Give the game to them. And again I think it's more a credit of what type of kids Tufts University attracts.

We get them there and it's just a joy to go to work every day. We've got great kids. I can't say enough. It's all a tribute to them.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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