HAVERFORD, Pa. – An early six-goal spurt from Haverford College's men's lacrosse team proved to be too much for visiting Skidmore College to overcome as the Fords downed the Thoroughbreds, 14-7, Saturday afternoon in a non-conference contest at snowy Swan Field.
Haverford (2-3) trailed 1-0 late in the first period but scored six unanswered goals over a span of 3 minutes, 14 seconds to take control of the game against Skidmore which fell to 2-4 with the loss.
The opening 10 minutes of action failed to result in a score by either team but Mike Perlow got the Thoroughbreds on the board first with a goal at the 5:12 mark. It took more than three minutes for the game's second goal but when Henry Millson scored for the Fords off a Jack Bodine feed with 1:18 left in the quarter, the flood gates opened.
Geoff Geppert found the back of the net, on another assist from Bodine, with 44 seconds remaining in the opening frame, then Christian Clay delivered the first of two back-breaking goals. With time running out in the first and the Fords playing for the last shot, Millson fired a pass from behind the goal to Clay who rammed home the shot with eight ticks left to push Haverford to a 3-1 advantage.
Only 18 seconds into the second frame Clay delivered again with an unassisted tally for the fourth consecutive Haverford goal. Millson scored 51 seconds later then assisted on Dan LoSardo's goal less than a minute later to build a five-goal cushion for the home team. Skidmore notched its second of the game midway through the period but that would be the final marker of the half as the Fords entered the halftime break with a 6-2 edge.
Two more periods remained, but the tone of the game had already been set. Skidmore tried to rally notching the first two goals of the third period but a five-goal string from Haverford effectively ended the threat.
The outcome was likely decided already in the final quarter, but the teams did combine to provide continued excitement to the contest as each scored twice in a 70 second, four-goal outburst that only altered the totals, not the winner and loser of Saturday's tilt.
Bodine and LoSardo shared game-high honors with Skidmore's Perlow as each player finished with three goals. Bodine added three assists to close with a six-point day.
In the defensive end, both goalies were busy all game long as the two offenses combined for a total of 95 shots. Haverford's Eric Calliendo earned the win between the pipes, finishing with 15 saves while adding a caused turnover and five ground ball pickups. Skidmore's Matt Diaco took the loss surrendering 13 of the 14 goals scored against the Thoroughbreds.
Possession played a large role for the Fords as specialist John Schipper won 11-of-18 faceoffs to kick start the attack. Haverford finished the day with a 15-9 advantage at the faceoff dot.
The Fords also punished Skidmore when earning man-up opportunities scoring on three of their seven extra-man chances. In contrast, the Thoroughbreds picked up only three extra-man chances and the Fords held that man-up offense scoreless.
Next up for Haverford is a home match-up against visiting and 16th-ranked Trinity (Conn.) College on Tuesday at 4 p.m. on Swan Field.