Bullets hold off Fords in men's LAX conference opener

Bullets hold off Fords in men's LAX conference opener

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Haverford College's men's lacrosse team erased deficits twice in the opening period to draw even with host and 12th-ranked Gettysburg College, but the Bullets broke free with a three-goal second stanza on their way to a 12-5 Centennial Conference victory over the visiting Fords on Saturday afternoon.

Haverford (3-4, 0-1 CC) fought back from an early two-goal deficit on unassisted goals by Chris Christensen, his first of the year, and Jack Bodine, his ninth, within a span of 39 seconds.

The Bullets (5-2, 1-0) regained the lead on a goal from Even Thomas but Jake Maldonado answered for the Fords, notching his ninth of the year on an unassisted tally less than a minute later.

Tied at 3-3 to start the second, Gettysburg finally broke free of the pesky Fords scoring three unanswered goals and eventually taking a 6-3 lead into the halftime break. Another Bullets goal early in the third increased Haverford's deficit but Bodine was able to cut into Gettysburg's advantage by registering an unassisted goal at the 9:48 mark of the period.

Though the Bullets added two more goals, Haverford continued to fight back against its nationally-ranked opponent, getting a goal from Henry Millson late in the period to cut the disadvantage to four, however Gettysburg scored the game's final three markers to finish off the home victory which opened the conference slate for both teams.

Bodine led the Haverford attack with a pair of goals while Thomas scored a game-high three times for Gettysburg.

Gettysburg goalie J.T. McCook (4-2) proved frustrating for Haverford as the netminder earned the win making 14 saves. Haverford's Eric Caliendo (3-4) took the loss between the pipes for the Fords, coming up with five saves in defeat.

Haverford returns home to Swan Field for its next challenge, welcoming No. 5 Washington College to campus Wednesday evening for a 5 p.m. Centennial contest.