The Muhlenberg men's lacrosse team allowed only two second-half goals to come from behind and defeat Haverford, 13-9, in its first Centennial Conference game of the season.

The win gave the Mules (8-1) a 1-0 CC start for the first time since 2010. And it came on the road against a Haverford team that qualified for the CC playoffs last year.

Freshman James Dalimonte scored five goals for the third time in the last six games. Sophomore Ethan Grossman also netted five points on two goals and three assists, becoming the first Muhlenberg player with 50 career goals and 50 career assists. Sophomore PJ Lombara added four points in his first career start.

The Mules jumped out to an early 4-1 lead but trailed 7-6 at halftime. Third-quarter goals by Dalimonte and juniors Jake Whittingslow and Frankie Feaster gave Muhlenberg the lead for good at 9-7.

It was 9-8 before the Mules scored two goals off failed clears late in the quarter.

With 1:59 left in the period, a defenseman mishandled a pass from the Haverford goalie, who was well out of the crease. Grossman pounced on the loose ball and shot successfully into the empty net for his second goal of the game.

Muhlenberg won the ensuing faceoff and could not get off a shot on goal before the shot clock ran out. The Fords (3-6, 1-1) attempted a clear with less than 30 seconds to play, but freshman Matt Marrella forced a turnover along the sideline. He passed to Lombara, who found streaking senior defensive middie Steve Chenworth for a one-on-one with the goalie. Chenworth put it away for his first goal of the season with 6.7 seconds on the clock, extending the lead to 11-8.

Grossman assisted Lombara on a pair of goals late in the fourth quarter to account for the final margin.

Junior Garrett Pope made four of his 10 saves in the second half while allowing only two goals. Sophomore Alexander Giaquinto picked up a career-high six ground balls, and freshman Kyle Lando scopped five.

pictured above: Sophomore Matt Hager causes a turnover by knocking the stick out of the hand of a Haverford attackman in the first half.