GALLOWAY, N.J. – The Haverford College men's lacrosse team was stifled by Stockton on Wednesday night as the Fords dropped a 16-6 contest on the road. The Fords fell behind 5-0 after the first quarter despite having several more opportunities in the attacking zone. The host Ospreys finished the contest with just a 53-46 advantage in shots, but 15 saves from Stockton goalie Justin Ruiz kept the Haverford attack at bay for most of the evening.
The Fords were holding a 17-12 advantage in shots after the first quarter and had a pair of man-up chances during the first 15 minutes. However, Stockton goalie Justin Ruiz stopped all seven shots that he faced in the opening period and did not concede a goal until Haverford's ninth shot on target. That stellar play in the crease allowed Stockton to score the game's first five goals. The Ospreys were leading just 1-0 with four minutes remaining in the first, but scored four times in the final four minutes of the period to jump out to the early advantage.
Haverford got on the board with its third man-up attack chance. After Ruiz's eighth straight save to start the contest, Blake Brinster collected that ground ball off the rebound and quickly found fellow first-year Sean Mowatt-Larssen for Haverford's first tally. Mowatt-Larssen also scored off an assist from co-captain Stephen DeLeo with 2:40 to play before the half. Nevertheless, Stockton carried an 8-2 lead into the break. Mowatt-Larssen's two goals marked the first multi-goal contest of his young career and gives him three goals through the first three games.
Seeming to build some momentum early in the third quarter, co-captains Rob McLallen and DeLeo scored goals within 34 seconds of each other to trim the deficit to 9-4. McLallen later set up DeLeo's second goal of the night, but the Ospreys continued with their steady attack and were holding a 13-5 lead heading to the fourth. After his two-goal night, DeLeo also has three goals to tie him with two others for the team lead.
Fellow senior Ryan Tetro finished the Fords' sixth tally just over five minutes into the final period. Anthony Vizzoni set up that goal with his first assist of the year. Stockton's Eric Anderson added one of the Ospreys' final three goals in that fourth quarter and finished the night with a game-high four goals.
Haverford concluded the contest even in the face-off battle as Zack Cohen won 12 of the game's 24 face-offs. He collected a game-high seven ground balls off of those victories to help his side finish with a 28-22 advantage in ground balls. Haverford's defense also caused five turnovers while Dylan Slack made 10 saves in the cage.
Tonight's contest closed the books on the February portion of the lacrosse schedule. When the calendar flips to March, the Fords will play six straight games on Swan Field and travel just once at the very end of that month. The first of those successive home dates will be this Saturday, March 2 when the team welcomes Randolph-Macon. The opening face-off in that contest is set for 12 p.m.