Box Score ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Senior
Andrew Preiser and freshman
Cam Marsh each scored two goals, but it wasn't enough, as the Swarthmore College men's lacrosse team fell to Eastern by an 18-8 score on Sunday, Feb. 22 in the season opener for both schools. Eastern broke open a close game by scoring on 10 consecutive shots on target over a span of 17:44 to earn the convincing win.
The teams played the first quarter evenly with each squad netting two goals on eight shot attempts. After Eastern (1-0) found the back of the net twice in less than five minutes, the Garnet answered right back with two goals before the break. Freshmen
Jimmy Eberle and Marsh each netted their first career markers at 8:54 and 1:03, respectively, to tie up the score.
After the teams exchanged goals early in the second quarter, Eastern took advantage of its extra opportunities by winning four of six faceoffs to storm ahead. David Darling broke the tie before setting up a goal scored by Bryan Mizell to double the Eagle lead. With a stall warning in effect, Eastern capitalized one more time before the half as Darling found the back of the net with just 19 seconds left to give the hosts a 6-3 lead at the break.
Eastern continued where it left off in the first half by outscoring the Garnet 6-2 and controlling the ground game in the third quarter. Eric Waibel scored twice and rifled a shot off the post in the waning seconds to lead the offense and put the hosts in full control.
The Eagles used another six-goal quarter to wrap up the game. Swarthmore had a golden opportunity to make a comeback when Bryan Goetz was issued a non-releasable penalty for delivering an illegal body check on sophomore
Graham Lesko, but the Garnet failed to even attempt a shot over the three-minute span. Darling and Grant Ferguson added insurance tallies to produce the final outcome.
Senior
Callen Rain, who was making his first career start, turned away seven shots for Swarthmore and suffered the loss. Nick DiPiano of Eastern saved 14 shots to earn the win. Eastern had a 46-30 advantage in shots as well as a 38-23 advantage in ground balls. The Eagles also had a 17-13 edge in faceoffs won.
Swarthmore (0-1) begins a three-game homestand on Saturday, Feb. 28 when it hosts Widener at noon.
