MADISON, N.J. - The Haverford Men's Lacrosse team (3-4) fell to 17th-ranked Stevens (5-1), by an 18-12 on Friday afternoon, in the first round of the Leanos Cup held on the campus of Drew University.
Matt Richards scored a career-high seven goals in the contest, notching the sixth most goals in a game in school history with the standout performance. Teammate Reid Tietjen had the second-most points on the day, tallying two goals and four assists for the Fords.
In the faceoff circle, Teddy Carlin won 10 out of 25 duels, while also leading the Scarlet and Black in ground balls with eight. Defensively, Ronan West scooped five ground balls and caused one turnover.
In between the pipes, Jacob Abraham also matched a career-high in saves with 26, posting a 59.1 save percentage against a daunting Ducks' offense.
The Fords sent a haymaker right off the bat, stunning their ranked opponent, as goals from Evan Wolpert, Philip Passalaqua, and a man-up goal from Matt Richards gave Haverford a 3-1 lead at the 6:26 mark in the first quarter.
However, the Ducks would soon begin to find their rhythm, as Stevens closed out the opening quarter with a 4-0 scoring run to take a 5-3 advantage into the second quarter.
The Ducks began to pile it on in the second quarter, continuing their unanswered scoring run by rattling off five more goals to take a commanding 10-3 lead with 6:39 remaining in the first half.
Amongst the goalscorers for Stevens was Mikey Whiteside, who's goal at the 12:36 mark to make it 7-3, completed his first-half hat trick.
Tietjen's goal at 5:39 snapped that 9-0 scoring stretch for the Ducks, to trim the lead down to 10-4. Richards found the back of the net to tack on another goal for the Scarlet and Black, before two more goals from Stevens solidified a 12-5 lead at the halftime break.
Richards completed his third hat trick of the season with 13:28 to go in the third quarter, continuing to chip away at the Ducks lead, as the Fords trailed by just six, 12-6. Stevens answered less than a minute later to extend the lead back to 13-6, before goals from Tietjen and Richards got Haverford within five goals at 13-8. Matthew Pergola was able to sneak a shot past Abraham to increase the lead to 14-6, before two more goals from Richards and a goal from D'Andre Chaney, chopped the Stevens lead down to just three at 14-11, with just one more quarter to go.
In a quarter that saw five more goals, it was the Ducks who found the net more frequently, scoring four straight goals to regain a seven-goal cushion at, 18-11, with just 1:26 flashing on the scoreboard. Richards was able to squeeze in one final tally at the end, but it was not enough, as Stevens prevailed over the Fords.
Haverford will be back in action Sunday, March 16, as the Fords will be taking on either Drew or Rhodes in the consolation game of the Leanos Cup, at either 11 a.m. or 2 p.m.