Men’s Lacrosse: Garnet Slay Giant, End 22-Year Skid
LANCASTER, Pa. - Swarthmore sophomore goalie Frank Mazzucco made 17 saves, including five in the fourth period, and classmate Alex Hahn scored twice as the Garnet defeated home-standing Franklin & Marshall 7-5 on a wet Saturday afternoon.
It is the first time the Garnet defeated Franklin & Marshall in Centennial men's lacrosse play (0-12 since 1994) and the first victory over the Diplomats (5-7 overall, 1-5 CC) since 1984.
Swarthmore junior midfielder Gavin Nurick scored the first goal for the Garnet at 2:22 off an assist from freshman attack Stelios Wilson. The Diplomats scored once to tie the game at 1-1 at the conclusion of the period.
After an F&M goal, the Garnet tied the game at 2-2 when junior captain Jay Charles scored his team-leading 16 th goal at 6:00 and took a one-goal lead into halftime when Hahn scored with 25 seconds left. Wilson collected his second assist of the game on the play, finishing the afternoon with three helpers to increase his season-total to seven.
Hahn scored his second goal at the beginning of the third period (11:51) off a pass from junior captain Ryan McKenna and Swarthmore opened up a 5-2 with its fourth consecutive score, this one an unassisted score by freshman midfielder Todd Friedman, at 10:57. It is Friedman's seventh goal of the season and sixth in the last four games.
The Diplomats got a goal by Mark Hild with 2:06 left in the third to cut it to 5-3, but Swarthmore senior Matt Perez countered with a goal off a feed from Wilson at the start of the fourth (14:14).
F&M out-shot Swarthmore 13-3 in the fourth, but Mazzucco set up a wall, allowing only a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes. Wilson added his 12 th goal of the season at 5:32, collecting four points on the day to take the overall team lead with 19 points.
The Diplomats controlled the face-offs (11 of 16), grabbed more ground balls (38 to 29), and out-shot Swarthmore (36 to 20), yet the Garnet put 80% (16 of 20) of their shots on goal.
Swarthmore (4-8 overall, 1-5 CC) continues the 2006 Centennial schedule with a home game vs. 10 th-ranked Washington College on Wednesday, April 26.