Gavin Sings It Loud and Proud
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Garnet junior attack Gavin Musynske scored three second-half goals and classmate Kevin Friedenberg made 10 saves as Swarthmore men's lacrosse moved into a tie for third-place in the Centennial Conference with a 7-4 win over visiting McDaniel on a blustery Saturday afternoon at Clothier Field.
The Garnet improve to 3-2 in the Conference (4-4 overall) while the Green Terror slip to 1-2 in the Centennial and 7-3 overall. Swarthmore only trails #14 Haverford (4-0) and #16 Gettysburg (3-1) in the race for one of four Centennial playoff spots (the Garnet are tied with #8 Washington in third). The Garnet are 3-2 in the first five games of Centennial play, getting off a to a quick start similar to the 2003 squad (posted best Centennial finish in school history).
Wind gusts registered as fast as 35 miles per hour on Saturday afternoon next to the Crum Woods, but the conditions had little effect on the hard shot of Swarthmore senior midfielder David DeSimone (Ronkonkoma, N.Y. / Connetquot). The team captain found the back of the net with 3:19 left in the second period, scoring his career-high seventh goal of the season to send Swarthmore into the intermission tied with the Green Terror at three goals aside.
Musynske (Floral Park, N.Y. / Floral Park) had made little noise in the previous two games, but made sure he was heard through out the field on Saturday. After scoring Swarthmore’s first goal, the junior came out roaring in the second half, giving the Garnet a 4-3 lead at 13:56 after an unassisted tally. He concluded the period with an extra-man goal, getting a feed from senior Stelios Wilson (Moorestown, N.J. / Moorestown) from behind the cage. Musynske (above) stepped into the pass at the top of the circle and hummed the ball into the back of the net for a 5-3 Swarthmore advantage headed to the final period.
The Green Terror cut the score to 5-4 as Evan Young tallied his fourth goal of the season at 11:13.
The Garnet used a little luck and a lot of hustle for its sixth goal. Junior attack Tyler Bradshaw (Lassiter, Ga. / Marietta) attempted to gain an advantage on the right side of the McDaniel cage. The defense dislodged the ball from Bradshaw and it skittered around the top of the crease. Bodies started flying towards the ball, but it was Bradshaw who used a quick flick to scoot the ball into the net for his team-leading 11th goal of the season.
Musynske and Stelios Wilson combined again for the final goal of the game, another extra-man score coming at 4:23. All told, Musynske tallied four goals (a season-high) on the afternoon while Wilson three points (one goal, two assists).
Friedenberg (Needham, Mass. / Needham) was his usual stingy self in between the pipes, hitting double-digits in saves for the sixth time in 2009. For the fifth time in his last six starts, Friedenberg (right) allowed six or less goals, lowering his goals-against average to 5.95 (that number would have ranked in the top five in the country at the start of this week).
The Garnet have a big challenge from here on out, making their next appearance at Washington this coming Wednesday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m. Swarthmore returns to Clothier Field next week for a non-conference affair with RPI on Saturday, April 11 at 1:00 p.m.