Men’s Lacrosse: Young and the Restless Defeat Blue Jays
SWARTHMORE, Pa.- Freshman midfielder Ben Young scored his first career hat trick and sophomore Ivano Ventresca added a pair of scores as the Garnet used a big third quarter to defeat the visiting Elizabethtown Blue Jays on a frigid Wednesday night, 10-6.
After a quiet start to the game, Swarthmore junior midfielder Gavin Nurick found an opening on the perimeter and slung the ball past goalkeeper Chris Schuch to give the Garnet a 1-0 lead 4:20 in the game. Fellow midfielder Ventresca '08 added his third goal of the season shortly after to extend the lead to two. Local product Frankie Puzzangara, a 2003 graduate of nearby Strath Haven High School, scored the Blue Jays first goal; it was 2-1 at the end of the quarter.
The second period was all Garnet. Young kicked off the festivities with his first career goal after receiving an Alex Hahn '08 flick right in front of the net with 11:23 left in the half. Five minutes later, Swarthmore leading scorer Jay Charles '07 took a Nurick feed and bounced a shot over Schuch's shoulder and into the net for his eighth tally of the season. Just 27 seconds later, freshman Will Predun scored his second career goal to extend the lead to 5-1.
Before the halftime buzzer, Ventresca added his second goal, freshman Stelios Wilson converted a rebound, and senior Matt Perez scored his sixth goal of the year with just 17 seconds to play to give the Garnet a 8-2 halftime edge. Swarthmore was able to control play in large part because of the faceoff efforts of Charles and Adam Miller '08, who won six of eight faceoffs in the period and, along with Adam Winegar '09, controlled 14 of 19 on the game.
Young converted two more goals in the third period to put the game out of reach. Elizabethtown scored the game's final goals of the game, including three in the final two minutes, to make the final score respectable. Garnet goaltender Frank Mazzucco '08 had a strong fourth period, making four saves to finish with nine on the evening.
Charles finished with a team-high five ground balls; Predun and freshman Todd Friedman added four each.
Swarthmore will hit the road for its next four games, starting with Saturday's conference opener at #3 Gettysburg, and will return to Clothier Field on Wednesday, April 12, facing Drew University at 7:00 p.m.