ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Haverford College men's lacrosse team (5-8, 1-5 CC) was turned away by Muhlenberg (8-4, 4-2 CC), a team receiving votes in the latest USILA poll, by an 18-9 final at Scotty Wood Stadium on the Muhlenberg campus on Wednesday.
Sean Mowatt-Larssen had two goals to pace the Fords, while Drew Buck had four ground balls from the faceoff role. Nate Rose and Jason Borsari each had two caused turnovers and two ground balls while Matt Richards had an all-around solid performance with two ground balls, two caused turnovers and a goal on seven shots.
The Fords stuck right around with the host Mules in the early goings after Jack Quinn tallied at the 12:06 mark for Muhlenberg. Blake Brinster scored off a feed from Andrew Arth, and Arth then later lit the lamp with an unassisted strike with 6:35 remaining in the first stanza to even the score at 2-2.
Muhlenberg then found another gear, finding eight consecutive goals to take command of the contest up 10-2 with 2:31 remaining in the first half. Mowatt-Larssen gave the Fords something to build on heading into the intermission with his second of the contest, as Haverford headed to the half down 10-3, with work to do but a clear goal to chase.
Will Graves cut the advantage to 11-4 with 13:39 in the third, but another 4-1 Muhlenberg spurt put the hosts up 15-5 with 5:41 to play in the third. Eric Dahlberg, Richards, and Mowatt-Larssen each scored in the third while Jared Heller found the back of the net with 1:30 remaining in regulation for the final goal from either side.
Jacob Abraham got the start between the pipes for Haverford, making six saves, while Colby Freeman took the second half, making five saves in his 30 minutes of action
James Dalimonte and Ethan Grossman combined for seven goals for the Mules while Jack Kraemer also tallied a hat-trick for the hosts. Max May made 12 saves in his almost 53 minutes of work before giving way to Stephen Krug who added two saves in the waning moments.
The Fords controlled the faceoff X to the tune of a 17-to-13 advantage, with Drew Buck doing the most of the heavy lifting with 10 wins while Teddy Carlin added 5. Ground balls were even in the contest at 32-32, and neither side was able to convert a man-up opportunity.
Men's Lacrosse now charge on in CC play, heading to Hood Trophy rival Swarthmore on Saturday (12 p.m.) for the annual rivalry game with the Garnet. Haverford then wraps up the regular season against Franklin & Marshall at home on Saturday, April 30.