SWARTHMORE, Pa. - In an instant classic between rivals, the Haverford College men's lacrosse team (5-9, 1-6 CC) was edged in overtime by host Swarthmore (9-7, 3-5 CC) on Saturday afternoon at Clothier Field.
Andrew Arth registered a hat-trick to pace the Fords, while Teddy Carlin had another highly successful turn at the faceoff X, winning 14-of-22 attempts and scooping five ground balls. Devin Lefkowitz added two caused turnovers while six different Fords grabbed one caused turnover on the afternoon. Sean Mowatt-Larssen and Blake Brinster also tallied two-goal games for Haverford. The two sides didn't gain much separation in the early goings, with Swarthmore taking an early 3-1 lead behind a pair of consecutive goals from Von Mabbs. Haverford then went back to work in its offensive third, as Arth pulled Haverford back to within one at 3:42 remaining in the first and Jonathan Moon assisted on the tally.
A pair of Swarthmore goals gave the hosts some early breathing room, but Haverford again pulled back to within one as Matt Richards added an unassisted tally and Mowatt-Larssen converted a man-up goal with 12:39 to go in the second. A 4-1 scoring run for the Fords put a fire into the visiting bench entering halftime, with Mychal West and Peter Christians each scoring in the stretch before Arth scored with 6:09 to go in the half, the last tally of the first half.
Mowatt-Larssen gave Haverford a two-goal cushion with 11:47 left in the third, opening the second half scoring with a flourish, but a 3-1 Swarthmore run erased the Haverford momentum and put the hosts back in front. Brinster fired back to tie things up with 10:29 to go in the fourth, but Swarthmore again rattled off a pair in the final minute of action, taking an 11-9 lead that seemed like it would hold as the final score with Haverford struggling to score in the final moments.
Undaunted, Haverford found exactly what it was looking for in those four minutes and change down the stretch, scoring two goals in the final minute to send the game into overtime. Brinster added an unassisted strike with 23 seconds to play, and Arth then grabbed the game tying goal with just five seconds showing on the regulation clock, sending his bench into an absolutely frenzy while completing the hat-trick bid.
With the golden goal overtime now in effect, the opening faceoff proved to be crucial as Carlin won the matchup with Joel Pauslon, as Evan Wolpert scooped the ground ball. Unfortunately for the Fords, a turnover on a push gave the Garnet back the ball with 3:48 to play as Swarthmore earned a clear attempt and was able to run its offense with Michael Hardiman burying the game-winning strike with 2:23 showing in the five-minute overtime period.
Turnovers proved costly for Haverford all afternoon as Haverford committed 22 to just 15 for the Garnet. Despite a clear advantage in face-off wins, Swarthmore tallied three more shots and was able to capitalize at just the right time to down the Fords in the Hood Trophy matchup.
Colby Freeman made six saves in his 45 minutes between the pipes, while Andy Tieso saw the fourth quarter and overtime in net, making three saves and scooping six ground balls.
The Fords now return home for Senior Day on Swan Field, which is slated for Saturday, April 30 against No. 16 Franklin & Marshall at approximately 3 p.m.