SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The No. 18 Swarthmore College men's lacrosse team outscored visiting Messiah University, 10-3, in the second half to pull away to a 16-7 victory over the Falcons at Clothier Field Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
 
The two sides played a back-and-forth first half with the Garnet holding a 6-4 advantage at the break. Swarthmore won the third quarter, 4-2, to create some separation then put the game away with a dominant 6-1 fourth.
 
Clay Almgren went off for 11 points with four goals and seven assists, notching a career-best performance for the second game in a row. He recorded his 200^th career point during the contest, becoming just the fourth player in program history to hit the milestone. Rex Mabbs also found the back of the net four times while Nolan Ohrman and Owen Hoffman each scored twice.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Almgren opened the scoring for the Garnet with 8:29 on the clock in the first quarter. However, Messiah responded with three straight tallies to take a 3-1 lead with 3:43 to go in the period. Almgren netted back-to-back goals followed by one from Mabbs to put Swarthmore back in front before another Falcons marker evened it up at four with 4:18 left in the second. Mabbs and Ben Zabierek scored just 24 seconds apart late in the stanza to give the Garnet a 6-4 advantage at halftime. It was the first collegiate goal for the rookie Zabierek.
 
- Swarthmore outshot Messiah, 15-5, in the third quarter and scored four of the first five goals of the period to up the margin to five (10-5) with 2:40 remaining. Almgren, Mabbs, Ohrman, and Owen George all beat the goalkeeper. The Falcons scored in the final minute to close the gap to four entering the fourth.
 
- The Garnet ran away with the final frame, posting a 15-3 edge in shots and netting six of the seven goals in the quarter. Hoffman scored twice during the period, the second of which was assisted by Almgren for his milestone 200^th career point.

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GARNET LEADERS
Points: Almgren 11
Goals: Almgren, Mabbs 4
Assists: Almgren 7
Ground Balls: Jack McHenry 18
Caused Turnovers: Kevin Covington, Gabe Malcolm 3
Faceoffs: McHenry 22-26
Saves: Drew Tyson 7
 
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (3-0) heads to Elizabethtown College on February 28.