HAVERFORD, Pa. The Haverford College men's lacrosse team notched its first win of the season on Sunday with a 5-4 victory over visiting Randolph-Macon. The Fords (1-1) got the late edge with a pair of third quarter goals after they went into the half tied with the visiting Yellow Jackets at three.
Zach Cole scored Haverford's two second quarter goals to lead the team offensively. Tav Hafner opened the Haverford scoring, while Isaac Krier and Andrew Dalke provided the third quarter offense. Four different players scored for Randolph-Macon on Sunday.
The non-conference matchup was a low scoring affair despite Haverford amassing 36 shots on the afternoon and defending against 30 shot attempts from Randolph-Macon. Each goalie made nine saves in the contest. Eric Caliendo proved to be the winning goalie for the Fords as he now sits in sole possession of eighth place in program history with 13 career victories.
In a wire-to-wire victory, it was Hafner that jumpstarted the scoring for the Fords. After the two teams were unable to crack the opposition's defense in the first eight minutes of game action, Hafner broke through with his 13th goal of his career and first of his senior season. Chase Williams was credited with the assist on the goal that came with 6:53 to go in the first. Nevertheless, Randolph-Macon scored just 1:43 later to tie the game at one.
After an even first period, the Fords struck quickly at the start of the second. Cole broke through following a Fords' faceoff win and scored his first goal of the afternoon just 41 seconds into the second quarter. Andrew Dalke provided the assist on Haverford's second goal. Cole then put his team up by two goals with his second tally just under eight minutes later. This goal came in unassisted fashion. Once again, the Yellow Jackets provided the answer with goals from Alex Camilliere and Coleman Adams in the final 3:33 of the first half.
Haverford took its second two-goal advantage of the contest during the third quarter. Krier's second goal in as many games to start the season came with 8:32 left in the third and gave his squad a lead it would not relinquish. After assisting on the game's second goal, Dalke provided the eventual game-winning tally on a man-up chance with 4:48 to play in the period.
The only offense Randolph-Macon could muster in the final quarter came off the stick of Ryan Davidson with 14:15 left in regulation time. Despite being faced with 11 shots during the final 15 minutes, Caliendo stopped the final three that were on goal to hold on in the victory.
The Fords finished the contest with a 21-18 advantage in ground balls. Zach Cohen led the team in that category with a team-high five pickups. He had another fine day as the face off man. Seeing all the action, Cohen won eight of the game's 13 face offs.
Men's lacrosse will look to continue its winning ways this Wednesday when Stockton comes to Swan Field. That matchup is set to get underway at 7 p.m.