HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Swarthmore College men's lacrosse team rolled to a 16-5 victory at Haverford College in its final game of the regular season on Saturday.
The Garnet's win, coupled with losses by Muhlenberg College and Franklin & Marshall College, propelled Swarthmore to the third seed for next week's Centennial Conference Tournament. The Garnet, Mules, and Diplomats all finished with a 5-3 conference record but Swarthmore won the tiebreaker due to its superior goal differential in the games between the three squads. The Garnet receive a bye to the semifinals and will visit second-seeded Dickinson College.
Swarthmore dominated Saturday's contest from the jump, getting out to a 7-0 lead and not allowing a goal until the 8:48 mark of the second quarter. The Garnet led by as many as 12 and were lethal on the man-advantage, going 4-for-6 on extra man opportunities.
Ryder Maston paced the attack with a career-high six goals.
Danny Lowe netted a career-best four tallies and
Rex Mabbs tied his best with four assists.
Michael Hardiman recorded his ninth hat trick of the year.
Drew Tyson turned away 10 shots for his third consecutive double-digit performance.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore imposed its will on the Fords early, outscoring the home team 4-0 in the opening quarter. Maston scored twice while Lowe and
Owen Hoffman each beat the goalkeeper once. Despite owning a 3-2 edge in face-off wins, Haverford put just four shots on Tyson and he stopped all four.
- The Garnet continued their run into the second, putting up three more unanswered goals. Maston registered two more tallies and Hardiman scored his first. The Fords finally got on the board with 8:48 on the clock but it was their only marker of the period as Swarthmore did not allow them to gain momentum.
Nolan Ohrman scored on the man-advantage with 1:45 remaining to give the Garnet an 8-1 halftime lead.
- Swarthmore continued to stifle Haverford in the third quarter, scoring three times and conceding just one. Lowe potted a pair of goals and Maston posted his fifth of the game. The fourth saw the most offense with eight combined goals. Three of the Garnet's five tallies came while a man-up. Hardiman led all players with two goals in the period.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Maston 6
Goals: Maston 6
Assists: Mabbs 4
Ground Balls:
Matthew Martinez 7
Caused Turnovers: Tyson 2
Face-offs: Martinez 9-13,
Jack McHenry 6-9
Saves: Tyson 10
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (12-4) visits Dickinson for the Centennial Semifinals on Friday.
