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BY MARCUS MELLO

In print | Published March 18, 2010

Coming off a season-opening win over Eastern University before break, the Garnet men’s lacrosse team could not keep things rolling over spring break. The Garnet gave up 12 goals each in two losses to Widener University and Lynchburg College, falling 12-6 and 12-7 in each game, respectively.

The game against rival Widener, held at Leslie Quick Jr. Stadium on March 6, was part of the “320 Challenge,” a series of 19 head-to-head events in each of the shared sports between Swarthmore and Widener. Tyler Bradshaw ’10 led the team in goals. The captain attacker connected on three out of his four shots, added an assist and caused two turnovers. Bradshaw’s first goal, the only one in the first-half for the Garnet, came at about seven minutes into the game off an assist from Wes Marcik ’13. His other two goals came at the end of the game, with the first one coming unassisted and the second off an assist from attacker Zach Belden ’12.

But Bradshaw’s strong performance was not enough to earn the Garnet a win against the Pride. The first period may have been the most difficult part of the game as Widener started off with an early 7-1 lead. Goalkeeper Kevin Friedenberg ’10, also a team captain, said that the defense gave Widener too many opportunities early on. “Though you have to give Widener credit for capitalizing on their opportunities, early on in the game we made it too easy for them to get quality looks. Though defensively we settled down a bit in the second quarter, we let them jump on us early.”

Max Wilson ’10 agreed that the defense could have been stronger. “The defense started the game much more cautiously and timidly than we usually play. I think that that affected our ‘team defense,’ or our ability to predict each other’s movements and then react accordingly.”

Despite coming off to a weak start early on, the Garnet maintained hope for a comeback. Coach Pat Gress, in his 15th year as the men’s lacrosse team coach, said, “We definitely felt we could still win. We out shot Widener in each of the next three quarters and played with enthusiasm throughout.”

The second period proved to be better as the Garnet blanked the Pride, scoring three goals and closing the score to 7-4 by the end of the half. Captain Gavin Musynske ’10, Max Hubbard ’12 and Marcik all hit the back of the net, with John Buckawyn ’12 assisting on Hubbard’s goal and Bradshaw assisting on Marcik’s, which came a second before the end of the half. Though the second period was strong for the Garnet, the Pride took charge for the rest of the game.

Gress said that his team needs to clear the ball better and shoot more accurately. Though the Garnet outshot the Pride 33-25, they could not connect on those shots as much their opponents. While Widener had a shooting percentage of nearly 50 percent (12/25), Swarthmore’s was below 20 percent (6/33).

In the away game against Lynchburg College on March 10, Bradshaw led the team in goals with three off four shots. Bradshaw is now the fifth highest scorer in the Centennial Conference with eight goals in just three games. “Lynchburg was the better performance for me. I scored my goals earlier in the game than I did against Widener which helps set a better offensive pace earlier,” Bradshaw said of his performance.

The other star was Friedenberg, who registered an astounding 17 saves in the game and picked up nine groundballs, a team-high. Friedenberg’s 17 saves was one short of his career high. Gress and teammate Wilson took note of his performance. “Kevin always makes the defense, and the team for that matter, look better than we are,” Wilson said.

Though the defense held the Hornets to a three-goal first period, the effort was not enough to win the game. The first period, which included an unassisted goal from long pole James Wright ’13 with under one minute remaining, ended with the Garnet trailing 3-2. In the second period, the Hornets went on a 5-0 scoring run, raising their lead to six points. Despite a strong second half for the Garnet, who outscored the Hornets 5-4, the game ended in a 12-7 loss. The Lynchburg squad doubled the Garnet in shots (48-23), also scooped more ground balls (50-35) and won more face-offs (19-4).

“To me, Lynchburg seemed much stronger than Widener, although I wouldn’t say any of the teams is better conditioned or more skilled than we are,” Wilson said. “They just seemed to have a reduced number of unforced errors and mental hang-ups.” He also said that he is sure his team’s defense is already on the way to improvement. “Defensively, I’m sure we will improve exponentially in the next few games, as we already did during our Lynchburg competition. It’s a matter of gaining a sense of the field and each other. None of our defensive middies have any in-game experience, which is almost impossible to replicate during practice. However, I have confidence that they will pick up their performance, and that isn’t to say they aren’t doing a great job as it is.”

The offense has also been working to improve their game play. “We have rearranged the lines in hope of gaining productivity through new combinations of players,” Bradshaw said. He said that it is important for the team to improve its transition game, which will allow for more offensive opportunities. “This is the responsibility of the defense and offense to come together to make this happen.”

Friedenberg believes that his team has to treat the Widener and Lynchburg games as learning experiences, and focus on the immediate future. “Having a short memory and committing yourself to make the next play or opportunity, especially in conference games, is critical.” He said that no team in the country is good enough to simply show up and beat anyone else. “Good teams find ways to overcome adversity and win games. A great team is made by winning games that on paper it appears it should lose.”

The Garnet will play their second conference game against Dickinson College on Saturday. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Clothier Field.

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