COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Haverford College men's lacrosse team scored the last two goals of regulation and tallied an overtime winner off the stick of Ben Frost with 6.7 seconds remaining to upend No. 19 Ursinus and keep the Fords' (7-7, 3-4 CC) playoff chances alive. Haverford's win was its first over the Bears (8-4, 3-3 CC) since the 2012 season.
Three separate times on Saturday the Fords went on 3-0 runs. The first time tied the game at three-all after the visitors were shut out in the first quarter. The second such run gave Haverford its first lead of the afternoon, while the final offensive rally sent the Fords' sideline into celebration mode. Garret Trucksess, Kevin Goshorn, and Frost each tallied twice in the win. Zack Cohen, Isaac Krier, and Patrick Girard also scored in the winning effort.
Haverford was shut out during the first 15 minutes, but it was not due to a lack of attacking attempts as the Fords threw eight shots at the Bears' goalie. However, Elliott Shevitz was up to the task as he stopped each of the first four shots on goal he faced.
When the Fords broke through in the second quarter, the flood gates opened as Haverford outscored the Bears by a 6-2 score in that period. Down 3-0, Girard starting the attacking surge with an unassisted tally for his 14th goal of the season at the 11:59 mark. Just 15 seconds later, Cohen cleanly won the faceoff and promptly deposited his second goal of the season into the back of the net. Trucksess knotted the score with 5:41 to play in the half.
After watching its three goal lead vanish, Ursinus scored its own goal off a clean faceoff victory, but that did not deter the Fords who followed that up with three more goals in a span of just 2:53 of playing time. Goshorn finished the first of his two goals at the 3:51 mark. Just under a minute later, Trucksess tallied his second goal of the first half, giving Haverford the lead, with his fourth goal of the season. Frost's first tally came with 58 seconds remaining in the half off an assist from Rob McLallen, but a Bears' goal cut Haverford's lead to 6-5 at the break. Haverford finished the second quarter with goals on six of its nine shots.
Ursinus found its defensive bearing again to start the third quarter. The Bears retook the lead with the only two goals in that period and the first tally of the fourth quarter. However, five third quarter saves from Dylan Slack loomed large in keeping alive the Fords' chances at a comeback bid.
The host Bears scored with 13:32 to play in regulation time to take an 8-6 lead, but they were denied the rest of the way. However, they did not give any up on the defensive end until the 8:54 mark when Goshorn tallied his second goal of the day and seventh this season to cut the deficit to one goal. Haverford took advantage of the possession it gained when the Bears hit the crossbar at the 2:52 mark of the fourth. After that close call, Justin Brendel gathered the possession and transitioned the ball to Mitch Hagen who in turn found Krier. Krier's 14th goal of the year tied the game at eight-all with 2:35 to play.
With no more scoring in regulation, it was Haverford who held the upper hand in the overtime. Cohen won the overtime draw, but the Fords' first two chances at the win were denied by a save and shot over the crossbar. Ursinus held the possession for one and a half minutes before Chandler Todd picked up a ground ball with 39 seconds to go. Following a successful clear, Haverford took a timeout with 30 seconds to play. That gave Haverford just enough time to draw up the winning play at Stephen DeLeo found Frost for his 20th goal of the season. Frost now has two game-winning goals on the year.
In the crease, Slack stopped 11 of the 19 shots on goal he faced Saturday as Ursinus outshot Haverford by a 39-34 margin. His defense helped his efforts by causing eight turnovers. PJ Jackson and Jack Russ headlined that pressure with two caused turnovers. Jackson also picked up six of Haverford's 26 ground balls on the afternoon.
Men's lacrosse will now have a full week to prepare for its home and regular season finale next Saturday against Swarthmore. That 3 p.m. game will also be Senior Day for the team's graduating class. Depending on the conference results this upcoming week, that rivalry could also be a de facto play-in game for the Centennial Conference Tournament for the second straight season.