HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's lacrosse team (4-5, 0-2 CC) continued Centennial Conference play with a tough matchup against No. 10 Dickinson (10-0, 3-0 CC) on Saturday afternoon, falling by a 20-8 final on Swan Field.
Dickinson controlled the tempo of most of the game, but Haverford kept it interesting until midway through the second period. Sean Mowatt-Larssen and Blake Brinster led the Fords with two goals each, while Eric Dahlberg and Drew Buck led the team with four ground balls apiece.
The men's lacrosse program celebrated its 50th anniversary of the program on Saturday. During halftime the Fords honored the 2010 Centennial Conference champions, as that squad reached the top of the Centennial as Haverford's first CC champs, reaching the third round of the NCAA tournament.
Haverford scored first as the crowd roared with excitement when Mowatt-Larssen found the back of the net off the pass from Dahlberg. The Fords held the 1-0 lead for nearly the entire first period. The defense for the Fords swarmed Dickinson any time they looked for a shot.
The Red Devils were not afraid to shoot the ball, but they couldn't convert on those chances early on. Jacob Abraham made vital saves, but Dickinson finally got on the board with three minutes to play in the first. The goal seemed to get them going as they scored another three goals to end the period with a 4-1 lead.
Haverford battled back in the early goings of the second period behind Will Graves and Matt Richards. Those goals made the score 5-3 after Dickinson's goal to start the period. However, Dickinson went on another scoring run of four goals to extend the lead.
With 2:27 remaining until halftime, Haverford pulled one back after Brinster scored a man-up goal with the assist going to Wyatt Feinberg. The half ended with Dickinson leading 10-4, but the game didn't feel too far out of reach for the hosts.
The third period was a different story. The Red Devils outscored the Fords 7-1, putting the game out of reach. First-year Mychal West scored the lone goal for Haverford in that period, his first of the season.
Haverford kept things even in the fourth, matching Dickinson with three goals. Brinster, Nate Rose, and Mowatt-Larssen added goals to the Fords' total, with Richards and West registering assists from the goals.
Teddy Carlin finished the game with ten faceoff wins. Abraham and Andy Tieso each saw time in the net, recording six saves each. Haverford narrowly lost the ground ball battle 31-26 and were outshot 50-36 on the afternoon.
Haverford will now look to bounce back in conference play when they head to Maryland to take on McDaniel under the lights on Thursday, April 7. The game's first faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.