HAVERFORD, Pa. – A tough opening quarter proved too much to overcome on Saturday afternoon for the Haverford College men's lacrosse team. Playing against No. 10 Gettysburg in its Centennial Conference opener, the Bullets (5-2, 1-0 CC) grabbed a 6-0 lead after 15 minutes and never looked back during a 12-4 victory against the Fords (4-4, 0-1 CC).
Zach Cole scored two of Haverford's four goals on the day. Tav Hafner and Stephen DeLeo also found the back of the net for the home side. The Fords played Gettysburg to a 6-4 score during the final three quarters of game action. Rob McLallen and Kevin Goshorn also had assists for the Haverford attack on Saturday.
Blake Gray led the Gettysburg offense with five goals on the afternoon. He was instrumental in the quick start with three goals just over 10 minutes into the contest. Mike Distler was also a thorn in Haverford's side with two goals and three assists. His second goal of the afternoon set the score at 7-0 just under three minutes into the second quarter.
After a quick start from the Bullets' attack, Haverford settled in on the defensive end and did not allow the visitors to score again in the first half. Cole's first goal of the afternoon came with just 3:16 to go before the half.
Gray finished his fourth and fifth goals of the afternoon to help the Bullets grow their lead to 10-1 as part of a 3-0 run to start the third quarter. The Fords came back with their first successive goals of the day with Cole tallying his second midway through the quarter and Hafner finding the back of the net with 1:49 to play in the third. Cole now has five goals on the season, while Hafner has six. McLallen was credited with his eighth assist on Cole's second goal.
In addition to an even second quarter, Haverford also drew to a 1-1 quarter to close out the game. DeLeo scored his seventh goal of the season with 2:54 in regulation to cap the game's scoring. Goshorn's fifth helper of the season set up the afternoon's final goal.
Men's lacrosse will now head out on the road looking to even its conference record with a road tilt at Washington College this Wednesday at 7 p.m. That midweek date will be the first of two Centennial Conference road trips during the upcoming week as the Fords also travel to McDaniel next Saturday.