HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's lacrosse team (5-10, 3-5 CC) dropped a home heartbreaker to No. 17 Swarthmore (13-2, 7-1 CC) as the visitors downed the Fords in overtime by a score of 14-13 on Swan Field. The winning goal ultimately came 1:49 into the overtime period as the Garnet held on to preserve their 7-1 conference record.
Before the game, 13 Fords were honored on Senior Day for their contributions to not only Haverford's lacrosse program but to their off-the-field accomplishments as well. The seniors honored at Swan Field were: Jared Heller, Spencer Sapir, Peter Christians, Ben Meyers, Nate Rose, Drew Hoffman, Andrew Arth, Khalil Walker, Eric Dahlberg, Elijah Vega, David Harris, Tommy Dandino, and Asher Porphy.
The Fords received contributions from a multitude of performers but Arth led the way with three goals on four shots. The senior also added an assist and three ground balls. Tyler Vendetti recorded two goals and an assist while Teddy Carlin registered seven ground balls and 19 face-off wins at the X.
The visiting Garnet struck first but the Fords had the better performance in the game's opening period. Jackson Brosgol scored Swarthmore's goal just 40 seconds into the game. However, Haverford answered with four successive goals. Matt Richards scored on a man-up opportunity at the 12:46 mark and Eric Dahlberg scored nearly 11 seconds later off the feed from Arth.
The Fords continued to dominate the No. 17 team in the nation, shocking the Garnet early as Sapir found Arth for the Fords' third goal. The fourth goal came from Evan Wolpert who easily beat the keeper with a blazing shot. The assist went to Vendetti.
Swarthmore stopped the bleeding with back-to-back goals to make the score 4-3 in favor of Haverford, but the Fords carried the momentum into the second period after Vendetti scored with just 24 seconds left in the first.
The Fords were in familiar territory with a lead on a top-25 ranked Centennial Conference team. Haverford already held wins over Ursinus and Muhlenberg who were both ranked 19th at the time of their defeats. This group had planned on notching their third ranked win and certainly played like they were on a mission to do just that.
Action slowed in the second period but the game continued to provide entertainment for the 300+ fans in the stands on the final regular season weekend of the season. Swarthmore opened the scoring, but still found themselves down by a goal. Haverford then scored two unanswered goals as Reid Tietjen and Arth provided the offensive firepower. Buddy Pelish and Dahlberg registered the assists.
Down to the hosts 7-4, Swarthmore put momentum back on their side with back-to-back goals to finish the first half, only trailing by one as the halftime buzzer sounded. The contest continued to be even in the third period. Both teams scored four goals, finishing the period exactly how it started, with Haverford clinging to a one-goal advantage.
The second half started with an odd "own-goal" from Swarthmore's Liam Halstead, who scored in his own net after picking up a ground ball off the face-off. Taking advantage of the gift, the Fords added another goal at the 14:19 mark with Will Graves beating the goalie to increase the Haverford lead to three goals.
The remainder of the period saw D'Andre Chaney get on the scoresheet along with Hoffman. Swarthmore notched goals from Von Mabbs, Clay Almgren, and Nolan Ohrman to outscore the Fords 4-3 in the final ten minutes of the third period.
The Garnet took their first lead since the opening goal of the game after Cooper Bucklan and Danny Lowe each beat Jacob Abraham. With the Fords now trailing by one with eight minutes left and their backs against the wall, Vendetti scored his second goal of the game to even the score and remind the Fords that there was still much to play for. At the 6:27 mark of the fourth, Swarthmore regained the lead behind a goal from Ryder Maston.
The visitors held on to their one-goal lead for nearly five minutes, fending off every Haverford attempt on net. The game looked to be nearing its conclusion as the Garnet gained possession with the clock in their favor. The Fords, with no choice but to press with the possession clock nearly matching the game clock, forced a Swarthmore turnover with 1:37 remaining in the game. James Surgenor knocked the ball out of Alex Strauch's stick and Richards scooped up the ground ball. Richards eventually found Arth who fired a shot fast and low past the goalie to tie the game with 1:14 left to light up the crowd.
Haverford won the ensuing faceoff due to a violation and ran the clock down for one final attempt on goal to win the game dramatically. However, a shot from Hoffman missed wide and the game headed to overtime.
The overtime period did not last long as Swarthmore won possession off the faceoff and were celebrating a goal from Ohrman by the 3:21 mark of the period, ending the Fords' upset attempt.
Despite the loss, the Fords had plenty to hold their hat on this season as the future looks bright. Haverford finished the year with two wins against ranked opponents and an absolute force between the pipes in Abraham, who finished the game with 21 saves.
Abraham also finished three saves away from being ranked 20th in program history for saves in a single season. The regular season comes to a close with a seventh-place finish in the Centennial Conference and scoring 136 goals on the year.
Haverford's defensive efforts in 2023 are something to marvel at. The team's average goals against was 11.92, down from last season's 12.80 average. With a crop of young talent mixed with some upperclassmen leadership returning next year, fans of the Fords certainly have something to be excited about in 2024.