COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Haverford College men's lacrosse team (8-3, 1-2 CC) suffered a narrow 10-9 defeat to Ursinus (4-6, 2-1 CC) on a warm Saturday afternoon at Patterson Field.
Matt Richards led the Fords on Saturday with a game-high five points, tallying three goals and two assists, while Tyler Vendetti added two goals. Jason Borsari caused a team-high two turnovers, and reigning CC Defensive Player of the Week Ronan West collected a game-high six ground balls. Drew Buck went 11-for-19 in the faceoff X, while Jacob Abraham recorded 15 saves on 25 shots faced.
Haverford opened the game with a dominant 4-0 run. Richards struck first just 57 seconds into the contest, followed by a goal from D'Andre Chaney at the 13:02 mark. Reid Tietjen extended the lead to 3-0 at 11:33 with his first goal of the season, before Richards netted his second goal 10 seconds later, giving the Scarlet and Black the 4-0 advantage. Ursinus responded with a goal from Harry Sweitzer at 7:43, but Haverford quickly answered with goals from West and Will Weinstein, pushing the lead to 6-1 with 3:53 left in the first quarter.
However, the Bears closed the period strong with goals from Jared Laskin and Daniel Rice, cutting the Fords' lead to 6-3 heading into the second quarter.
Ursinus took control in the second frame, outscoring Haverford 3-0. Two goals from Laskin and one from Nils Updale tied the game at 6-6 as the teams headed into halftime even.
Haverford regained the lead early in the third quarter when Vendetti found the back of the net at the 9:46 mark, making it 7-6. Just under a minute later, Christopher Pucciarelli equalized for Ursinus. Laskin and Vendetti then traded goals, keeping the score tied at 8-8 as the game entered the final quarter.
Sweitzer gave the Bears a 9-8 lead just 80 seconds into the fourth frame, but Richards completed his hat trick at the 12:48 mark to level the score again at 9-9. Laskin responded with his fifth goal of the game at 11:24, putting Ursinus ahead 10-9.
Despite a flurry of chances in the closing minutes, including a shot by Evan Wolpert that ricocheted squarely off the post, three key saves by Ursinus goalkeeper Colin Daroch secured the win for the homestanding Bears down the stretch.
The Haverford men's lacrosse team will now return home to Swan Field on Saturday, April 5, to host No. 7 Gettysburg. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.