HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's lacrosse team fell to No. 12 Stevens by an 18-9 score on Saturday afternoon. The Fords were within one, 4-3, during the opening half before the nationally-ranked Ducks scored three unanswered to close the first quarter and recorded the only offense during a 5-0 second period. The two sides played to a 6-6 tie during the final 30 minutes, but the first half deficit proved too much to overcome in those 30 minutes.
First-years Sean Mowatt-Larssen and Blake Brinster paced Haverford's attack with two goals and an assist each. The rest of the scoring came from the Fords' upperclassmen as seniors Garret Trucksess, Stephen DeLeo, Rob McLallen, and Ben Frost each found of the back of the cage, along with Brian Geffroy. In addition to his goal, Trucksess dished out a team-best three assists. Four different players finished with hat tricks for the Ducks, led by Brendan Monteleone's four goal, two assist afternoon.
The two sides went back-and-forth during a fast-paced opening quarter as the Fords seemed to have an answer for every one of Stevens' strikes. The rookie connection of Mowatt-Larssen and Brinster tied the game at one, while Trucksess scored off a feed from DeLeo to make the score 3-2 just over six minutes into the contest. Ben Frost brought the Fords back within a single goal as his unassisted goal set the score at 4-3 with 5:56 remaining in the opening period. However, that would be the closest the Fords came to leveling the game as the Ducks ran off eight straight before Brinster broke that stretch with the first goal of the second half, just over two minutes into the third quarter.
With DeLeo, Mowatt-Larssen, and Frost all finding the back of the cage in today's contest, that trio remains tied for the team lead with seven goals. DeLeo also assisted on a goal and holds the team lead in assists (6) and points (13) as he was another of the four Fords who registered a multi-point contest against Stevens.
Dylan Slack and Ethan Donlon split time in the goal for the Fords. Slack got the start and made five saves during the first half, while Donlon came on in relief and denied six attempts over the final 30 minutes. Defensively, Colby Ferrigno forced Stevens into three forced turnovers as Haverford did limit the Ducks to just 5-of-10 on clear attempts during the second half. McLallen led all Fords with four ground balls on the day.
Men's lacrosse continues its extended homestand with two more home games this coming week. Haverford will next be in action for a 4:30 p.m. face-off against Gwynedd Mercy on Wednesday in that rescheduled contest. Centennial Conference play opens next Saturday as McDaniel comes to Swan Field for a 3 p.m. scheduled start. Saturday's conference opener will be played as a doubleheader with the women's game against the Green Terror getting underway at 12 p.m.