HAVERFORD, Pa. – Christian Clay scored six goals and assisted on four others for Haverford College in its 16-3 non-conference victory over visiting Mount Saint Mary (N.Y.) College on a warm and sunny Tuesday afternoon at Swan Field.
Clay opened the game's scoring for the Fords (1-3) with a goal three minutes into the first period then provided what would become the game-winner over the Knights (0-3) with his second of the game to put Haverford ahead 2-1 with 4:08 remaining in the period.
Clay's second score would be the first of five unanswered from the Fords.
Mount Saint Mary scored on a man-up opportunity midway through the second to trim the lead down to 6-2 but Haverford reeled off eight straight goals over the remainder of the second and early minutes of the third period to effectively put the game out of reach.
The prettiest goals of the game came from Tav Hafner in the second and Jack Bodine at the start of the third.
Hafner was the beneficiary of some tic-tac-toe passing from the Fords around the Knights' cage. Efficient cycling eventually culminated in a series of lightning-quick passes from Bodine to Clay behind the cage, and back out front to an uncovered Haffner who one-timed a pass from Clay into the top, right corner of the goal over the shoulder of defenseless Mount Saint Mary goalie Connor Haran.
Bodine's goal to get the ball rolling in the third took only seven seconds following the faceoff.
PJ Jackson won the faceoff with Geoff Geppert scooping up the ground ball. Geppert raced down the middle of the attacking zone and fed Bodine for a quick flick that beat Haran before either team would begin to work up a sweat after the intermission.
Bodine finished with four goals and assists while Hafner scored two. Freshman Evan Dorman closed the game's scoring in the fourth period with his first collegiate goal at the 13:52 mark and then another with under eight minutes to play. Freshman Richard Greenberg also scored his first career goal with sophomore Hunter Sentner notching his second of the season.
Eric Caliendo started in goal for Haverford and earned the win after making five saves before giving way to James Washington at the start of the fourth. Washington recorded one save but it was a point black shot at the 3:13 mark from Henry Schof as the Knight tried to beat Washington up high over his right shoulder from five feet out, only to be foiled by the sophomore goalie's quick stick.
Haran was under duress all game long for Mount Saint Mary. He finished with 12 saves but was harassed by the constant pressure from the Haverford attack which generated a 52-13 advantage in shots over the course of the game.
Non-conference action continues Saturday afternoon for the Fords as they take on Plattsburgh State in a neutral-site contest at Manhasset High School in North Hempstead, N.Y. The game against the Cardinals begins at 2 p.m.