MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Haverford College men's lacrosse team (7-1) earned their seventh win of the season, defeating Rhodes (5-4), by a 15-13 at Crain Field on the campus of Rhodes College. The win marks the best start to a Haverford season since the 2004 campaign.
Evan Wolpert and Matt Richards led the Scarlet and Black in scoring with three goals each, while midfielder Ronan West had a fantastic all-around game, recording four points off of two goals and two assists, as well as, scooping up four ground balls. Drew Buck went 14-for-13 in the faceoff X, gathering a team-high five ground balls, while Antonin Hoppmann-Salario and Will Weinstein caused one turnover each. In the cage, Jacob Abraham made 12 stops on 25 shots faced.
A fairly even opening quarter saw Tyler Vendetti get the Fords on the board first, firing a shot past Charlie Herlocher to give Haverford the 1-0 lead. However, the Lynx went on a 3-0 run, as goals from Gavin Nagel, Liam Sullivan, and Andrew Murphy, handed the hosts a 3-1 lead. The Scarlet and Black then halted the 3-0 run with a goal from Wolpert, before a late first quarter goal from West sent both teams into the second quarter knotted up at 3-3.
Nick Bilotti put Rhodes up once again with a goal at the 13:18 mark, before Wolpert's second goal of the contest tied the game at 4-4 with 12:27 left in the opening half. Haverford then closed the half out on a 4-0 run as JT. Anderson, Philip Passalaqua, and Colin Hulett, all found the back of the net, before Wolpert completed his hat trick with 1 minute remaining, to give the Fords a 8-4 halftime lead.
Taking advantage of a man-up situation, Richards opened the scoring up in the third quarter, by ripping a shot past Herlocher, just 18 seconds into the second half. Trailing 9-4, goals seven seconds apart from John Mori and Dylan Farley brought Haverford's lead down to 9-6 at the 13:56 mark, before Rhodes trimmed the lead down to just 9-8, with goals from Wyatt Bounds and Nagle, with 11:26 to go in the third quarter.
Connor Burgess' first collegiate goal stopped the 4-0 run by the Lynx, giving the Scarlet and Black a much-needed insurance goal with 5:38 flashing on the scoreboard, before West's second goal of the game with just 58 seconds remaining in the third that gave the Fords an 11-8 advantage headed into the final quarter.
Richards scored two consecutive goals within the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to give Haverford a 14-8 lead, followed by a Weinstein goal just 13 seconds later, to give the Fords a 15-8 advantage with 12:05 to go in the ballgame.
Fancy footwork from Passalaqua led to the Scarlet and Black's 15th goal of the afternoon, before Mori's second goal of the game snapped a 4-0 scoring-streak for Haverford at 8:42, to make the score 15-9. Rhodes then tacked on two more goals from Nate Simon and Bounds, prompting a timeout out of Haverford, with the Scarlet and Black leading 15-11 with 7:53 remaining.
Murphy then scored two consecutive goals to complete his hat trick, as the Lynx suddenly trailed by just two at 15-13 with only 4:36 left to go in the matchup.
However, stout defense from the Fords including a massive save by Abraham with 2:02 left in the contest, preserved another key victory for the Scarlet and Black, as the Fords left Crain Field with a 15-13 win.
Men's Lacrosse will return to action with a Friday Night Lights edition of Centennial Conference lacrosse, as the Fords will welcome the McDaniel Green Terror to Swan Field on Friday, March 21, for a 7 p.m. matchup in the CC opener.