ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The No. 18 Swarthmore College men's lacrosse team earned its first road victory of the season with a 16-7 decision at Eastern University on Wednesday.
The Garnet and Eagles were locked in a tight battle through 23 minutes of play, sitting even at three midway through the second quarter. Swarthmore then took control with a dominant 10-0 run that extended into the fourth period and the Garnet cruised the rest of the way.
Clay Almgren led Swarthmore with a career-high seven goals, five of which came during the decisive 10-goal stretch for the Garnet.
Ronan Butler also set a new career best, tallying four points on one goal and three assists.
Ryder Maston hit the back of the net twice.
Jack McHenry was dominant at the faceoff dot, winning 18 of 23 draws and collecting a career-high 15 ground balls to will Swarthmore to a 19-8 victory in the category.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- It was a light-scoring opening period with the two sides netting just one goal each. Eastern broke the ice at the 9:22 mark before
Owen Hoffman drew the Garnet level on an extra-man opportunity with 2:21 on the clock.
- Almgren scored his first tally of the day less than a minute into the second to give Swarthmore a 2-1 edge. The Eagles responded with a man-up goal at 13:00 to tie it at two.
Owen George gave the Garnet a brief 3-2 advantage before Eastern leveled the score once again with 7:05 left in the second.
- Almgren's second marker of the contest with 5:52 to go in the second jump-started a 10-goal surge for Swarthmore as it took over the game. Almgren led the rally with five tallies and Maston scored twice with
Emmett Harris,
Rex Mabbs, and Butler adding one goal apiece. The Garnet defense limited the Eagles to just four shots and two faceoff wins during the stretch. Swarthmore held a commanding 13-3 lead with 10:32 remaining in the fourth when all was said and done.
- Eastern tried to mount a late rally with back-to-back goals to make the score 13-5. However, three successive goals by
Nolan Ohrman,
Jack Rice, and Almgren put an exclamation point on the Garnet triumph. It was the first career goal for Rice.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Almgren 7
Goals: Almgren 7
Assists: Butler 3
Ground Balls: McHenry 15
Caused Turnovers:
Kevin Covington 2
Faceoffs: McHenry 18-23
Saves:
Drew Tyson 15
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (2-0) returns home to face Messiah University on Saturday.
