COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Haverford College men's lacrosse team (1-3) dropped its matinee contest on the campus of Colorado College (1-3) Sunday, falling by a 14-12 final score to the host Tigers. The Fords found themselves trailing for much of the contest, but fell just short of a dramatic comeback in a competitive game.
Andrew Arth led the Fords with four goals and two assists while Matt Richards continued his scoring form with two goals on Sunday. Will Graves also netted a hat-trick on nine shots. Teddy Carlin went 13-for-25 on the face-offs with some key wins late to keep Haverford within striking distance. Two goalies split time for the Fords as Andy Tieso finished with two saves and Jacob Abraham saved seven between the pipes.
Haverford went down big in the first quarter as they found themselves down 6-1 in the opening ten minutes. The Tigers were relentless on offense in that stretch. With the Fords trailing 2-0, Arth brought the visitors back within one with a goal. However, four unanswered tallies from the Tigers had the Fords on the ropes.
Haverford's big deficit did not last long as the Fords outscored the Tigers 4-1 in the final five minutes of the period. The goals in that stretch came from Arth, Jonathan Moon, and a pair from Matt Richards. At the end of the period, the Fords found themselves with a much more manageable scoreline, trailing by two at 7-5.
Action slowed down in the second period as the defenses took over. Haverford caused three turnovers with Nate Rose and Moon taking credit for two of them. Despite the heightened focus on the defensive end, the Fords allowed three goals from Colorado College, scoring none of their own. The Tigers scored at the 11:58 mark and were held scoreless for nearly seven minutes before netting two in the final five minutes. It was a difficult period for Haverford as they were even on shot attempts (10) with the Tigers but couldn't find the back of the net.
The Haverford scoring drought that lasted over 20 minutes came to an end when Arth scored at the 9:41 mark of the third period. The Fords grabbed another goal back as Graves scored with 7:56 remaining. The defense held firm again for the Fords and it was Colorado College's turn for a scoring drought. Haverford held the Tigers without a goal for 14 minutes before Charles Jeffers scored for the hosts. The Fords could have used a goal or two more but they finished the final eight minutes scoreless, and staring at an 11-7 deficit going into the contest's final period.
After a goal from the Tigers to start the fourth period, the Fords began to claw back into the game one final time. Will Graves scored with 11:06 on the clock, scoring off the feed from Arth. Tyler Vendetti then found Arth for the Fords' second unanswered goal. The scoring run was extended to three after Drew Hoffman found the back of the net with 5:56 remaining in the contest.
With the score sitting at 12-10 in favor of the Tigers, the Fords kept battling but the hosts found a way to score just ten seconds after the last goal of Haverford's scoring run. The Fords answered a minute later behind Graves' third goal to get back within two goals.
Haverford lost the ensuing faceoff with the game in the balance and the Tigers used that possession to go back up three goals with the goal coming from Declan Maguire. Still battling, Simon Dickinson caused a turnover, quickly clearing it up the field. The ball eventually found Moon, who fired it in the back of the net with two minutes remaining.
The Fords won the next faceoff but a shot from Vendetti on the possession missed just high as the Fords' comeback fell short. Haverford outshot the Tigers 49-43 but the hosts' goalkeeper kept the Fords from storming back, saving 16 shots on the afternoon. The Fords won the turnover battle 15-11, while causing nine.
Men's Lacrosse now returns to action on Tuesday, March 7, staying in Colorado Springs to take on Kenyon at Colorado College. Game time is slated for 3 p.m. eastern time.