SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The  Swarthmore College men's lacrosse team dropped its conference opener to No. 8 Gettysburg College, 16-13, on Saturday afternoon. Both teams exchanged blows in a typical back-and-forth battle between the two powerhouses, but Gettysburg was able to hold off a late Swarthmore run and maintain its narrow advantage. 

Clay Almgren led the team in points with three goals and one assist, while five different players contributed with two-goal performances. 

Drew Tyson was outstanding, making 20 saves and allowing 15 goals in another stellar performance. Jack McHenry also had a solid day in the faceoff circle, winning 17-of-29 with 10 ground balls. The junior set the program record for career faceoff wins, eclipsing Alex DeShields record of 134 wins from 1998.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Garnet blitzed the Bullets, scoring four-unanswered goals in the opening five minutes. McHenry dominated the faceoff circle with five-straight wins, leading to goals from Rex Mabbs, Jack Liss, Ben Zabierek and Ryder Maston. Following a Gettysburg timeout, the Bullets turned things around with two quick goals, before Maston added his second score after checking the ball away from the goalie and scoring on a vacant net. The Bullets battled back to tie the game, before taking the lead in the final seconds with their fourth-straight goal, making it 6-5. 

- The Bullets gained some separation on the Garnet in the second period. Gettysburg opened the stanza with a goal, before Mabbs countered with his second of the game. However, the Garnet were kept off the scoreboard for the remainder of the half as the Bullets added two more scores to their total, building a 9-6 edge. 

- Gettysburg took a four-goal lead with the opening goal of the third quarter. Almgren then answered with consecutive scores, while Liss buried another goal to bring the Garnet within one at the 5:13 mark. Gettysburg was held scoreless for 10 minutes before breaking through with a goal at the 2:47 mark. Tyson helped keep the Garnet within striking distance with several impressive saves, closing the period with six. 

- The Bullets notched a couple early scores to expand their lead to four goals in the fourth quarter. Owen Hoffman created some much-needed momentum with a score at the 9:23 mark, but the Bullets took advantage of a man-up advantage to get their goal back. Swarthmore put together one final surge with back-to-back strikes from Almgren and Zabierek  to pull within two goals. Both tallies were scored within 14 seconds of each other. Owen George then brought the Garnet within one, before the Bullets countered with a back-breaking score and then sealed victory with an empty-net tally. 

GARNET LEADERS
Points: Almgren 4
Goals: Almgren 3
Shots: Almgren 7
Ground balls: McHenry 10
Saves: Tyson 20

UP NEXT
The Garnet (6-4, 0-1) continue conference play at Muhlenberg College on Wednesday.