BY LAUREN WALKER

In print | March 27, 2008

The Swarthmore men’s lacrosse team ended their four game winning streak this past week, dropping two games to Centennial Conference opponents Ursinus and Dickinson College. The Garnet first matched up against the Ursinus Bears, falling short in a 13-3 loss, and then they battled the Red Devils of Dickinson on Saturday to a tight 7-5 defeat.

The Garnet opened up their Centennial Conference action on a rainy Wednesday night, taking on the Ursinus Bears in Collegeville, Pa. Swarthmore was the first to strike in the game, firing two goals past the Ursinus goalie before the Bears could get on the board. Midfielder Todd Friedman ’09 placed an unassisted goal in the upper corner about twelve minutes in and attack Gavin Musynske ’10 fed a pass to Stelios Wilson ’09 for the second goal of the evening.

As the rain began to subside, however, the Bears were able to get their offense up and running, and the momentum shifted quickly out of Garnet control. Before the end of the first quarter, the Bears had taken the lead, 3-2. Swarthmore battled back and was able to get on the board again in the second quarter, as Tyler Bradshaw ’10 netted one for the Garnet off a feed from Drew Bonessa ’08, but the Bears once again answered quickly with two more goals of their own, giving themselves a 5-3 lead going into halftime.

Unfortunately, the Garnet struggled to find the back of the net in the second half. The Bears, on the other hand, went on a scoring frenzy, living up to their usual tendency of scoring late in the game. Ursinus totaled seven goals in the second half, bringing the final score to 13-3 and giving the Garnet their first loss of the season.

On Saturday, the Garnet looked to bounce back against their next Centennial Conference opponent, Dickinson. They took on the Red Devils at home on Clothier Field, playing them to a close 7-5 loss.

Dickinson struck first with a goal from midfielder Jon Schneider with 9:36 remaining in the first quarter, but Swarthmore responded quickly. Bradshaw notched an unassisted goal less than three minutes later, tying the game. The momentum shifted yet again, however, as the Red Devils netted two more goals before the end of the first quarter, giving them a 3-1 advantage. Swarthmore tallied the only goal scored in the second quarter, as Wilson finished a feed from Bradshaw with 6:53 remaining in the half, cutting the Red Devils lead to one goal going into halftime.

Both teams slipped another goal past their opposing goalies in the third quarter. Midfielder Will Predun ’09 put an unassisted goal into the net a little more than six minutes into the half, but the Devils once again answered back, reclaiming the lead 4-3. The Garnet came out fiercely in the fourth quarter, as Wilson scored his second goal of the day to knot the score up again. Soon afterwards, he beautifully assisted Musynske, who captured the lead for Swarthmore, 5-4.

In yet another shift of momentum, Dickinson regained control, tying the game with about twelve minutes remaining. Then, with five minutes to go, the Red Devils struck again, taking the lead that they would hold for the remainder of the game. As the clock wound down, a fluke goal from midfield further extended Dickinson’s lead, bringing the final score to 7-5. It was an unfortunate end to such a well fought battle. “Our defense played well against Dickinson, we just caught some bad breaks,” said Kevin Friedenberg ’10.

The losses bring the Garnet to 4-2 overall (0-2 CC). They’re looking to bounce back, as they take on their next Centennial Conference opponent, Franklin and Marshall College on Wednesday on Clothier Field at 7:00 p.m. “F&M is a good team, and we’re looking forward to putting together a complete game against them,” said senior captain Frank Mazzuco.

“We’re excited to put last week behind us and get back on track with a conference victory against F&M,” added Ben Young ’09.

Disclosure Note: Kevin Friedenberg is a columnist for The Phoenix, but had no role in the production of this article.

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