GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The 14th-ranked Haverford College men's lacrosse team made a valiant effort to knock off the nation's top-ranked team but host Gettysburg College was able to hold off the Fords—barely—for a 10-9 Centennial Conference victory Sunday afternoon.
Haverford (3-2, 0-1 CC) was led by Max Hjelm's game-high four goals while Gettysburg (6-0, 1-0) got a team-leading three goals from Joe Brady.
Joe Banno finished with 10 saves in goal for the Fords but the Bullets' John LeClerc registered eight saves of his own, perhaps none bigger than his stop of Haverford's Travis Gregory with 67 seconds showing on the game clock and Gettysburg clinging to a one goal lead in the fourth period. Gregory's shot would prove to be the final shot taken in the game.
The contest kicked off looking like it might be a rout for No. 1 Gettysburg as it got off to a lightning-quick start in the game's opening period outshooting Haverford by a 14-1 margin and outscoring the visitors 4-1 after 15 minutes of action.
Less than five minutes into the second stanza the Bullets led 7-2 but from that point forward Haverford made a long, steady climb back into the game. In fact, over the final three periods the Fords held a 29-18 edge in shots, allowing only two by the Bullets in the final period, and outscored the nation's top-voted team 8-6.
After their dismal opening 15 minutes, Haverford exploded for five goals in the second, fighting back to a deficit of only two entering halftime.
The two ranked teams traded goals, two apiece, in the third followed by a harrowing fourth in which every shot taken had major implications.
Banno and LeClerc stood strong in the final 15-minute stretch with the Gettysburg net minder allowing the period's only goal, a score by Hjelm (his 15th of the season) at the 7:48 mark that pulled the Fords within one.
Haverford dominated offensive possession in the fourth just as Gettysburg had the better of play in the opening period, but the difference proved to be the four Gettysburg goals in the first compared to the one by the Fords in the last.
The tough but clean game had only seven penalties with the Fords converting two of their four man-up opportunities while the Bullets were able to capitalize just once in their three chances. Gettysburg held a slight edge in face-offs winning 13 of 23.
Haverford rolls back into action Wednesday afternoon when visiting Skidmore College comes to Swan Field for a 4 p.m. non-conference game.