HAVERFORD, Pa.- Haverford College men's lacrosse Head Coach Richard Carrington earned his first win at the helm of the Fords Saturday, as the Fords (1-1) dispatched Lebanon Valley (1-2) by an 18-12 in the home opener on Swan Field.
Matt Richards picked up right where he left off from the season opener, pacing the Fords in scoring with five goals, while Reid Tietjen found the back of the net four times and handed out four assists. Goalkeeper Jacob Abraham picked up the win, making 12 saves in the victory over the Dutchmen.
As a team, Haverford held a substantial advantage in face-offs (winning 24 of 32), and ground balls, picking up 58 more ground balls than the opposition. Teddy Carlin notched 14 wins from the X while Drew Buck went a perfect 10-for-10 with a game-best nine ground balls.
In a game that saw 70 ground balls scooped up by the Fords, Danny Hoehler picked up eight, while totaling a game-high five caused turnovers. Evan Wolpert and Tietjen each had seven ground balls.
The Scarlet and Black raced out of the gates to start the matchup, with goals coming from
Richards and Evan Wolpert just 33 seconds apart to take a 2-0 lead with 13:13 in the first quarter. After the two teams traded a goal each to make the score 3-1, Jake Bollinger of Lebanon Valley rattled off two consecutive goals to tie the game 3-3 with 4:57 remaining in quarter number one.
The Fords ended the quarter on a 3-0 scoring run, as goals from Will Graves, Tyler Vendetti, and Matt Richards extended the Haverford lead to 6-3.
The teams exchanged a goal each from the Fords' Ronan West and the Dutchmen's John Lux to begin the second stanza, before the Scarlet and Black went on a 4-0 scoring run with three goals from Tietjen and one from Richards to take a commanding 11-4 lead. Lebanon Valley squeaked in one last goal before halftime, as the Fords led 11-5 at the halftime break.
The Dutchmen and Fords went back-and-forth in goals to start the second half, as Sheadan Makosy had his goal answered by Richards, only to find the back of the net again to trim the Haverford lead down to 12-7 with 8:48 remaining in the third quarter.
Up by five, the Scarlet and Black went on their second 4-0 scoring run of the game, as goals from Will Graves, Seamus McNally, Wolpert, and Tietjen elevated the host's lead to 16-7 with 1:46 left in the third period.
Lebanon Valley then went on a 3-0 scoring run in the final minute of the third quarter to pull within six goals, 16-10, heading into the final quarter of play. In the lowest scoring quarter of the contest, both teams traded two goals each, as Haverford was able to triumph over the Dutchmen 18-12.
Following their first win of the season, Men's Lacrosse will head back on the road for their next contest, as Haverford will travel to Widener on Wednesday, February 28. The action in Chester is slated to begin at 7 p.m.