Kevin Closes Meeting With Diplomats
LANCASTER, Pa. -- Garnet junior goalie Kevin Friedenberg made 15 saves and senior midfielder David DeSimone scored two second-half goals to lead Swarthmore men's lacrosse to a 8-6 Centennial Conference victory Wednesday afternoon at Franklin & Marshall.
A 4-4 game at halftime, DeSimone (Ronkonkoma, N.Y. / Connetquot) gave Swarthmore a one-goal lead heading into the final period by scoring his fifth goal of the season with 50 seconds left off a feed from freshman Max Hubbard (Washington, D.C. / St. Alban's).
Franklin & Marshall (2-4, 0-1 CC) peppered Friedenberg (Needham, Mass. / Needham) at the start of the fourth and the junior was able to turn away two shots before Diplomat Colin McKew got one by at 12:33 to tie the affair.
The Garnet (3-3, 2-1 CC) went after the F&M goalie, firing off two shots of their own. Senior midfielder Will Predun (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. / Cold Spring Harbor) (left) connected on the third opportunity for his second goal of the afternoon and a 6-5 Swarthmore lead. Classmate Ben Young (Washington, D.C. / St. Alban's) put the Garnet up 7-5 with his fourth goal of the season at 7:02.
The Diplomats scored just one minute later to get back within a goal and won the ensuing face-off. The vaunted Swarthmore defense reared its head at the perfect time with senior defender Jesse Handler (Baltimore, Md. / Friends School of Baltimore) causing a F&M turnover with under five minutes to go. The Garnet transitioned easily to the other end of the field and DeSimone struck again, tallying an unassisted goal at 3:51 to give Swarthmore sufficient cushion in the scoring column.
Friedenberg was tested by the F&M attack in the final minutes and he answered with two more saves to pick up his third win of the season. Friedenberg has kept pace with the top goalies in the talent-rich Centennial Conference, ranking second in save percentage (66.1%) and goals-against average (6.67) while listing fourth among all players with 22 groundballs.
The Diplomats posted a 30-12 shot advantage for the afternoon with Swarthmore winning 10 of the 16 face offs (Swarthmore sophomore Mark Czernyk [Montville, N.J. / Delbarton School] was 9-14).
The Swarthmore offense got on the board first as Predun netted his fourth goal of the season with 12:20 left in the first period.
The Diplomats created a Garnet turnover and converted the next offensive set into a goal. Harrison James’ goal at 8:53 was assisted by Colin McKew and tied the game at 1-1, the score at the end of the first period.
Czernyk won his fourth straight face-off at the start of the second period and the Garnet immediately turned the possession into a 2-1 lead. Junior attack Tyler Bradshaw (Marietta, Ga. / Lassiter) notched an unassisted goal, his team-leading ninth, just 22 seconds into the second period.
The Diplomats cashed in a rare offensive opportunity (Swarthmore out-shot F&M 14-3 till this point), knotting the game at 2-all when Sean Oliver scored at 9:44 off a feed from Noah Wilkinsky.
Swarthmore assumed the lead once again at the 4:13 mark, converting an extra-man opportunity. Bradshaw notched his second goal of the afternoon (10th on season) with classmate Gavin Musynske (Floral Park, N.Y. / Floral Park) accumulating an assist. It was the 50th point of Bradshaw’s career.
The goals continued to pour in during the closing minutes of the first half with the Diplomats scoring on its own extra-man session with 49 seconds left. Swarthmore responded immediately with Czernky again winning the face-off, leading to a goal by Musynske off a feed from Predun with 37 seconds showing. F&M gained the final possession of the half, and after a timeout, tied the game at 4-4 with a score by Wilkinsky.
Friedenberg stopped a last-second shot by the Diplomats, preserving the tie into the intermission.
The Garnet return home this weekend to take part in a Swarthmore lacrosse doubleheader. The Garnet women host McDaniel at 12:00 p.m. on Clothier Field, followed by the men’s contest at 2:30 p.m. against the Muhlenberg Mules.