HAVERFORD, Pa. – It was another shutdown defensive effort from the Haverford College men's lacrosse team that led to the team's third straight victory. The Fords (4-2) won each of the four quarters and did not allow a goal for the final 31:54 of playing time in a 9-2 win over Wooster (3-2). The Fords and Fighting Scots had never met prior to Saturday's game on Swan Field.
Haverford spread the scoring around as seven different players recorded a goal in the winning effort. Tav Hafner and Isaac Krier each had two goals to pace the attack. The Fords also moved the ball nicely with six assists on those nine goals. Garret Trucksess and Patrick Girard each had two helpers on the afternoon. In net, Eric Caliendo starred for the Fords as he stopped 14 of the 16 shots on goal that he faced. He also gathered nine ground balls and caused three turnovers. The Fords' senior co-captain has anchored a defense that has conceded just seven goals in the past three games.
Hafner guided the Haverford attack to an early lead with both of his goals coming in the first half. He scored his first goal just over two minutes into the game with an unassisted tally. Hafner also opened the scoring in the second quarter to put his team up 3-1. Wooster's only goal of the first quarter came on a man-up chance to even the score. However, that tally was answered by Andrew Dalke's fourth goal of the season. Rob McLallen was credited with his seventh assist on the play.
The Fords also doubled up the Fighting Scots in the second period with another 2-1 quarter. In addition to Hafner's fifth goal of the season, Zack Cohen made it 4-1 just seven seconds later as the freshman won the face off, collected the ground ball, and went half the field in unassisted fashion for his third goal of the season. Cohen collected a season-best eight ground balls on Saturday as he won nine of the game's 13 face off attempts. Wooster scored an unassisted tally with just 1:54 remaining in the half to make it a 4-2 deficit after 30 minutes.
With both defenses standing strong in the opening half, Haverford began to find slightly more chances during the final 30 minutes. The Fords continued their lock down defense and scored the game's final five goals to come away with the convincing win. The second half started with Chase Williams scoring his team-leading 12th goal of the season off of Cohen's first career assist. This goal came just 12 seconds into the third quarter as another clean face off victory from Cohen set up Williams. The Fords made it 6-2 when Patrick Girard found Stephen DeLeo for the freshman's sixth goal of the year.
Krier got into the scoring act with a pair of goals just over five minutes apart in the fourth quarter. He scored his first goal in unassisted fashion. Just 5:29 later, he was set up by Girard to give Haverford an 8-2 lead. Krier's second goal on Saturday tied for the team lead with Williams in scoring. A pair of freshmen also connected in the game's final minute for the 9-2 final. Capitalizing on a man-up advantage, McLallen scored his second goal of the season with 32 seconds remaining. Trucksess was credited with his second assist of the afternoon on the play after he previously helped Hafner's second goal during the opening half.
On top of Caliendo's superb effort in goal, the Haverford defense helped force Wooster into 19 turnovers. Fourteen of those turnovers came as a direct result of the defense. Chandler Todd caused five of those turnovers, while Caliendo also had three. PJ Jackson and Max Ellis each forced a pair of Wooster giveaways. Haverford held a 44-40 edge in ground balls as it picked up at least 10 ground balls in each quarter. Eight different players finished with at least three pickups on the afternoon for Haverford.
Men's lacrosse will now look to continue its winning ways on the road next Saturday when it travels to No. 20 Stevens. That game, which is the final contest before the start of Centennial Conference play, is set for a 2 p.m. start.