Sports

Lax snags pair of wins

In print | April 10, 2008

The Swarthmore men’s lacrosse team notched two exciting victories this past week, ending their four-game slump and improving their overall record to 6-4. These wins against Goucher College and McDaniel College were tough battles for the Garnet, both games ending with only a one-goal margin of victory.

On Wednesday, April 2, the Garnet men traveled to Towson, Maryland to take on the Goucher College Gophers. The Garnet men have fought the Gophers before in many close games, and this year’s proved to be no different.

The game was a battle through and through, as Swarthmore fought to maintain the lead despite Goucher’s statistical advantage. The Gophers tallied 36 shots compared to Swarthmore’s 30, picked up more ground balls and had four extra-man opportunities, but the Garnet men shut them down on every front anyway.

With about twelve minutes left in the game, midfielder Dave DeSimone ’09 converted off a pass from Ben Young ’09, scoring his fifth goal of the season and second goal of the game (his first ever multi-goal game), giving the Garnet a two goal lead, 6-4.

The Gophers answered quickly, however, netting two of their own, tying the game and sending it into overtime.

The first overtime passed, and neither team was able to slip anything past the net-minders. This is no surprise on Swarthmore’s end, as goalie Frank Mazzucco ’08 made 14 saves during the game and was later named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week. His solid performance has been much appreciated by his teammates and has greatly contributed to the wins. “Frank has been a brick wall between the pipes which gives our team an incredible boost…Having a solid goaltender in the net allows our team to focus its attention on other areas of the game,” Kevin Friedenberg ’10 said.

The victory came with less than two minutes left in the second overtime, when Young finished on a feed from Tyler Bradshaw ‘10, bringing the score to 7-6, and bringing home the third consecutive one goal victory for the Garnet against Goucher. "We’ve been in overtime games with Goucher several times in the past few years," said Young. “We all went into the overtime really motivated and with a lot of heart. That’s what helped us to come out on top.”

Friedenberg agreed, saying, “What gave us the edge against Goucher was simply our heart.”

Swarthmore took the momentum from this win into their next game, traveling to Westminster, Maryland, and coming out on top yet again in another close fight against the McDaniel College Green Terror. The Garnet scored first, and held the Green Terror scoreless throughout the entire first half in the low scoring battle.

Bradshaw, who led the scoring for the Garnet with two goals, tallied his first just three minutes into the game off a pass from Gavin Musynske ’10. A defensive war ensued, and neither team was able to score another until midfielder Anthony Phalen ’10 netted one with 4:43 left in the second quarter to give Swarthmore a 2-0 lead going into halftime.

The Green Terror finally got themselves on the board about halfway into the third quarter, but Swarthmore answered back, as Young notched a goal off an assist from Stelios Wilson ’09. Before the third quarter ended, McDaniel scored again, bringing the score to 3-2 going into the fourth quarter.

Bradshaw scored his second goal with 6:23 remaining to give the Garnet a two goal lead, but the Green Terror responded, bringing the margin to one goal again. The Swarthmore defense held strong to seal the victory, however, and the Garnet men came home with their first conference win, defeating McDaniel 4-3.

Mazzucco had another amazing performance with 16 saves during the game while Dan Sartori ’08 also had an impressive day on defense, causing two turnovers and picking up three ground balls. Max Wilson ’10 and Jesse Handler ’09 each picked up three ground balls of their own as well.

These two wins bring the Garnet to 1-4 in conference play and 6-4 overall. They hope to carry the momentum from these two victories into their game on Saturday, when they travel to take on Hamilton College in a nonconference game.

Disclosure note: Kevin Friedenberg is a columnist for The Phoenix but had no role in the production of this article.