Franks Red Hot And Garnet Streaking
WESTMINSTER, Mary. -- Swarthmore senior goalkeeper Frank Mazzucco turned away 16 Green Terror shots, spearheading a stellar effort by the Garnet defense as Swarthmore held on to beat McDaniel 4-3 in a low-scoring Centennial Conference contest Saturday afternoon.
The Garnet defense shutout the Green Terror in the first half, as McDaniel (4-6, 0-4 CC) did not register their first goal until 8:47 remained in the third quarter. McDaniel’s three-goal output is their lowest of the year.
Swarthmore’s offense was led by sophomore attack Tyler Bradshaw (Marietta, GA / Lassiter) who tallied two goals. Junior midfielder Ben Young (Washington, DC / St. Alban’s) and sophomore midfielder Anthony Phalen (Needham, MA / Needham) also scored for the Garnet.
Bradshaw put Swarthmore (6-4, 1-4 CC) on the board early, capitalizing on a McDaniel penalty to score an extra-man goal off a feed from Gavin Musynske (Floral Park, NY / Floral Park) just 2:46 into the game. Both defenses would then settle in, preventing either team from scoring until Phalen rippled the old onion bag with 4:43 remaining in the second period to give Swarthmore a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
McDaniel’s Evan Young (Easton, MD / Broadneck) finally got the Green Terror offense going when he scored off a pass from Gibbs Preston (Baltimore, MD / McDonough) midway through the third quarter. The Garnet countered with Young’s goal, assisted by junior attack Stelios Wilson (Moorestown, NJ / Moorestown) just over three minutes later. McDaniel’s Matt Buschman (Towson, MD / Calvert Hall) scored off a feed from Tim Seiger to bring the Green Terror within one going into the final period.
Bradshaw scored his second goal of the afternoon with 6:23 remaining in the game to put the Garnet up 4-2, but McDaniel refused to quit as Evan Young scored again to again bring the Green Terror within one. The Garnet played lockdown defense for the remainder of the contest, capped off by a caused turnover by senior defenseman Drew Bonessa (Pittsburgh, PA / Shady Side Academy) and a ground ball pickup by junior midfielder Will Predun (Cold Spring Harbor, NY / Cold Spring Harbor) with under 30 seconds left, securing the win.
Mazzucco (Redding, CT / Joel Barlow) made five of his 16 saves in the fourth, and also picked up three ground balls. In two one-goal wins this week, Mazzucco recorded a whopping 30 saves.
Swarthmore senior defender Dan Sartori (Darien, CT / Darien) caused two turnovers and picked up three ground balls for the Garnet. Defenders Jesse Handler (Baltimore, MD / Friends School) and Max Wilson (Great Falls, VA / Langley) also had three ground balls each.
The Garnet return to action on Wednesday night when they take on third-ranked Washington College at 7:00 p.m. on Clothier Field.