Musynske Inspires Garnet to ECAC Victory
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Garnet sophomore attackman Gavin Musynske tallied a career-high five goals to lead Swarthmore to a resounding 14-4 win over visiting Manhattanville in semifinal action of the 2008 E.C.A.C. Metro/South Men's Lacrosse Championship Friday night at a misty Clothier Field.
Swarthmore (9-7) advances to Sunday’s championship game against Drew University. The first face-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. The Garnet defeated the Rangers (10-7) earlier this season, winning 12-6 two weeks ago at Clothier Fields.
The Garnet offense had everything working Friday night, tallying a season-high for goals. Musynske (Floral Park, N.Y. / Floral Park) totaled seven points on the evening to increase his team-leading total to 40 points (21 goals, 19 assists).
Joining Musynske in the scoring column was junior midfielder Ben Young (Washington, D.C. / St. Alban’s) and senior attackman Chris Harman (New Market, Md. / St. John’s Prospect Hall) with two goals apiece. Swarthmore also got goals from freshman attackman Brian Baum (Miami Beach, Fla. / Ransom Everglades), junior attackman Stelios Wilson (Moorestown, N.J. / Moorestown), junior midfielder Todd Friedman (Miami, Fla. / Miami-Palmetto) and sophomore midfielder Anthony Phalen (Needham, Mass. / Needham).
Swarthmore held a 3-1 lead at the intermission and jumped out to a five-goal lead with three consecutive scores, capped off by a laser shot just under the crossbar at 9:34.
The Valiants (8-8) countered with an unassisted goal by Vinny Menzenski (Yorktown, N.Y.) at 8:42 followed by the 13th goal of the season by attackman Mike Strauss (Newark, Del.) off a feed from attackman Joey Hasbrouck (Wantagh, N.Y.).
The Garnet ran off seven unanswered goals into the fourth period to build a commanding 13-3 lead. Swarthmore held a 42-17 shot advantage while scooping up 43 ground balls to Manhattanville’s 25. Garnet sophomore Tyler Bradshaw (Marietta, Ga. / Lassiter) collected a game-high six ground balls while junior Jacob Metzger (New York, N.Y. / Cape Elizabeth) led the defense with five ground balls.
All-Centennial goalie Frank Mazzucco ’08 (Redding, Conn. / Joel Barlow) made eight saves in almost 52 minutes of action for his ninth victory of the season. Valiants’ counterpart Andrew Predun (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. / Cold Spring Harbor) made 10 saves in over 56 minutes.
Musynske was a one-man wrecking crew in the first half, scoring three times to give the Garnet a 3-1 lead at halftime. The sophomore tallied two scores with 30 seconds at the end of the first period and then scored in transition at the 11:22 mark of the second stanza.
The Valiants got on the board at the end of the first half, as junior Scott Montaldo (White Plains, N.Y.) gathered his own rebound and snapped the ball into the net just before the halftime horn sounded.
Swarthmore held a 19-11 shot advantage while neither team could convert four extra-man opportunities.
The Garnet advance to the E.C.A.C. Championship game for the third time in program history, and will look to win their first championship. Swarthmore suffered final-game defeats in 2000 and 2003.