HAVERFORD, Pa. - Senior goalkeeper David Block -- making his first collegiate start -- earned his first win between the pipes for Haverford College in the Fords' 10-9 Centennial Conference victory over visiting Swarthmore College on Saturday afternoon at Swan Field. Block finished with 13 saves in his first collegiate start and fellow senior Sage Disch notched his first goal during the rivalry win.
Haverford closes out its 2013 schedule with a 7-7 record overall and a 4-4 mark in the conference. Saturday's loss drops the Garnet to 4-11 overall and 1-7 in the league.
Seven seniors were making their final appearance for Haverford on Saturday and head coach Colin Bathory had all seven in the starting lineup, including Block who had accumulated less than two minutes of playing time during a career which included three years behind All-American goalie Joe Banno '12 who recently signed a contract with the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse.
Block (1-0) played big for the Fords coming up with four saves in the first period, then three each in the remaining three periods.
Disch, a defender, scored the game's most unexpected goal as he beat the buzzer to end the third period. Block forced a turnover in the defensive zone and passed off to senior David Whitcomb who sent a pass the length of the field where Christian Clay was able to snare it and level a quick feed from the right of the goal to Disch, popping in from the left. Swarthmore goalie Jonathan Cohen had slid out of the crease to battle for the pass from Whitcomb leaving a wide-open net for Disch whose score came with 0.4 seconds on the clock.
At the time the Disch goal looked to be perhaps icing on the cake as the Fords carried momentum and a 7-3 lead into the final period. The Garnet had different plans, though.
Swarthmore scored in the opening minute of the fourth then notched three more unanswered goals to pull even at 7-7 with seven minutes remaining.
Jack Bodine's 21st of the year allowed Haverford to take back the lead two minutes later but Swarthmore responded with consecutive goals to forge its first lead of the game since opening the scoring in the early minutes of the second period.
Trailing 9-8 with less than three minutes remaining in the season stirred the Fords who tied the score on senior Jake Maldonado's goal at the 2:13 mark then netted the game-winner at 1:07 with Clay's third of the game.
Senior long pole defenseman Scott Chanelli took, and won the faceoff following Clay's goal and Haverford was able to maintain possession over the final ticks of the clock to end the season with a victory over their rivals from Swarthmore.
Along with Block, Chanelli, Disch, Maldonado and Whitcomb, Henry Millson and John Schipper were making their swan song in a Haverford uniform. Schipper was 12-for-21 at the faceoff dot for the Fords and Millson was credited with a pair of ground ball pickups. Chanelli, fourth in the nation in caused turnovers per game (3.5) registered a game-high three against the Garnet.
Clay added four assists to his three-goal afternoon to post a season-high seven-point game. Bodine accumulated four points from three goals and an assist. Schipper, Maldonado, Disch and Geoff Geppert notched one goal each in the victory.
The men's lacrosse win, following the women's team's win at Swarthmore earlier Saturday, provided the clinching point for Haverford in its annual Hood Trophychallenge with the Garnet. Haverford took a 9.5 - 5.5 point lead with the points from women's and men's lacrosse, then upped the advantage to 10.5 - 5.5 when the men's tennis team defeated the 26th-ranked Garnet soon after the completion of the lacrosse games.