Second period surge makes difference in 10-7 victory for men’s lacrosse

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – The second period of eighth-ranked Haverford College's, 10-7, victory over Skidmore College Wednesday evening made all the difference. The Fords outscored Skidmore 3-0 in the period, proving to be the winning margin after the teams tied in each of the other three quarters.

Playing at Ridge (N.J.) High School, neither team needed much time to get acquainted to the unfamiliar surface. Jason Leeds put Haverford (4-1) on the board just over two minutes into the contest. The teams exchanged the next two goals before the Thoroughbreds reeled of consecutive scores just six seconds apart. The second goal in the sequence was scored off the faceoff as Ryan Paradis picked up the ground ball and went in for the score. Phillip Valliant evened the score at 3-3 with his tally in the final minute.

Although the Fords scored three times in the second period, it was the defense that shined. Skidmore (2-1) owned the upper hand in shots, 12-9, but goalkeeper Joe Banno made six saves in the frame. Max Hjelm scored two goals in-between another Leeds tally to give Haverford a 6-3 advantage at halftime.

The Fords scored the first two goals of the third period to make it six unanswered goals. The Thoroughbreds responded with four consecutive goals spanning the last five minutes of the third and the first five minutes of the fourth period. Mike Holden notched three of those goals to bring Skidmore within one, 8-7.

Valliant recorded his second goal of the night at the 9:31 mark and Myles Monaghan put the nail in the coffin with his acrobatic dive with a wrap around, behind the head shot at the top of the crease as the period approached the three-minute mark.

Banno finished the night with 14 saves for the Fords while Matt Diaco and Connor Dowling combined for eight saves for Skidmore.

Thirteen penalties were called in the game, but only three man-up goals were scored as a result.

Haverford returns home Saturday to host No. 12 Denison University at 1 p.m.