ITHACA, N.Y. - The Haverford College men's lacrosse team (2-3) tested itself with a tough non-conference matchup at Ithaca College on Wednesday afternoon, falling by a 15-9 final inside the confines of Higgins Stadium, as the two sides contested a matchup between teams receiving votes in the latest USILA Coaches poll. 

Haverford was paced by two-goal efforts from Wyatt Feinberg and Eric Dahlberg as each recorded two goals. Haverford had just three assisted goals on the afternoon with six unassisted tallies on the scoreboard. Andy Tieso made his collegiate debut between the pipes with a stellar effort, stopping 15 shots as Ithaca tested the sophomore. Teddy Carlin put forth another solid performance from the X, collecting 10 ground balls and winning 16 total face offs to keep Haverford firmly in the contest until a late Bombers rally gave the hosts some separation. 

Haverford and Ithaca traded goals in the early goings, with the Bombers feeding off the home crowd just a bit more to take an early 4-2 advantage. Haverford got one back from Dahlberg with 12:11 remaining before halftime, but Ithaca then rattled off consecutive strikes from John Sramac and Jae Stuhlman to take a 6-3 lead. Dahlberg and Feinberg each found the back of the net before halftime, with Feinberg striking just before the halftime whistle to trim the lead to 7-5.

Carlin took it himself off the faceoff to open the second half, firing up the Haverford bench as the Fords were within one after their FOGO converted on a crafty strike. A pair of goals from Ithaca gave the hosts some breathing room, but Sean Mowatt-Larssen joined the scoring with his goal that came with 6:57 to go in the third, putting Haverford back within two.

Andrew Arth also scored as the Fords inched closer to 10-8 with 4:20 to play.  Unfortunately for the Fords, Ithaca proved to have a strong fourth quarter rally, going ahead 11-8 ona  goal from Jake Erickson before Jonathan Moon responded with a tally. From that point, a stout defensive effort helped keep Haverford on the scoreboard for the final nine minutes of regulation, a stretch that saw Ithaca light the lamp four times to pull away. 

Defensively, it was Wesley Hudkins and Liam Farnan who proved to be the difference makers for the hosts, combining for seven caused turnovers in a swarming effort while Demetri Lowry also added three. Ithaca controlled the ground ball battle by a 28-19 margin. 

Haverford will now eturn home for its final contest of the spring break period, taking on Susquehanna at 1 p.m. on Swan Field. The Fords then play their next two on the road, with battles against Kean (March 19) and No. 10 Gettysburg (March 26) on the horizon.