HAVERFORD, Pa. – A closing flurry by the Haverford College men's lacrosse team fell short of an upset of 7th-ranked Denison University Saturday afternoon as the No. 14 Fords dropped a 7-5 non-conference decision to the visiting Big Red at Swan Field.
Denison (4-0) rolled to a 4-0 halftime lead then held a 6-0 advantage in the third period before Haverford (4-3) scored five of the final six goals of the game — including the final four tallies.
Jake Maldonado got the Fords on the scoreboard midway through the third to break a 36 minute drought. After a Denison goal from Cory Couture reset the lead back to six, the Fords staged a furious comeback.
Phillip Valliant found the back of the Big Red net for an unassisted goal near the 11-minute mark of the third then Haverford got three in the final period, two from Max Hjelm and one from Zack Cohen, as it battled back to within striking distance with just under two minutes remaining in the match-up.
Keeping the Fords in the game with strong individual efforts were goalie Joe Banno who came up big over the final 15 minutes making five stops while keeping Denison off the scoreboard, and defender Dillon Hamill who finished the contest with seven caused turnovers, two ground balls and a 4-of-8 showing in the faceoff circle.
Hamill won the faceoff after Hjelm's goal at 13:12 but a teammate's turnover in the offensive zone cost the Fords time as the game clock ticked closer to zero.
The Fords picked up a loose ground ball in their own end with 53 seconds left, quickly converted the clear then got a shot off with 38 seconds remaining. Travis Gregory's shot was high and Hjelm followed with another but Denison goalie Gregg Shannon made the save icing the game for the visitors.
Both teams' defense and back-checks worked overtime in the contest as each squad caused 25 turnovers. The two top-20 schools did generate their share of offensive opportunities in the game as Haverford sent 26 shots toward Shannon and Denison threw 30 at the Fords' goal.
Haverford limited Denison to just 1-for-8 in extra-man opportunities and held a Big Red offense that entered the game averaging 17 goals per outing to just the seven notches on Saturday's scoreboard.
Banno finished with nine saves for Haverford and Shannon ended with seven for Denison.
The Fords move on to the third of a three-game home stand in their next outing, a Wednesday night Centennial Conference contest against Muhlenberg College.