Alive: Haverford Bounces No. 5 Devils in OT
from press release
GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Much of the second half had a deja-vu
feeling for the Haverford College men's lacrosse team but this time
around it took care of business, albeit in double-overtime, by
defeating No. 5 Dickinson College, 12-11, in the semifinals of the
Centennial Conference tournament Friday afternoon on the turf of
Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium on the campus of Gettysburg
College.
The Fords (10-5) move on to Sunday's championship final at noon
against second-ranked, and tournament host, Gettysburg College
(15-1) who defeated McDaniel College, 10-6, in the day's opening
semifinal match-up. Dickinson falls to 14-2 with the loss.
Earlier in the year Haverford held a multiple-goal lead over
Dickinson in the fourth quarter of the regular season contest but
the host Red Devils rallied with unanswered goals to wrest away a
victory.
Friday's game saw the Fords storm out to a 9-4 halftime lead but,
as in the regular season contest, Dickinson stormed back, this time
scoring seven second-half goals to just two from Haverford forcing
overtime.
The Fords had the first crack at ending the game but Phillip
Valliant's shot was saved by Red Devils goalie Tyler Magann.
Dickinson got off a shot which was blocked on the following
possession then Haverford's Travis Gregory had his shot blocked in
the Dickinson end.
A penalty at the end of the initial overtime period gave the Fords
a man-up chance to start the second OT frame and Brian Fleishhacker
nearly ended the game with a reverse shot around his back but the
ball clanged against the post giving the Red Devils a short
reprieve.
Dickinson was able to get a clear on their possession but a
turnover gave the ball right back to the Fords who completed their
own clear into the Red Devil end.
One pass later found the ball in a driving Gregory's hands 20 yards
out and a few moves and seconds later he ended the game with his
third goal of the contest, this one coming at the 2:07 mark of the
second OT.
Zack Cohen tallied a game-high four goals for the Fords and also
picked up a pair of assists for a six-point game. Along with
Gregory, Max Hjelm collected three goals, all in the first half.
Dickinson was led by Ted Sirvaitis' three goals.
The Red Devils out shot the Fords 44-31 overall and 28-9 in the
second half, but Haverford held a 4-1 edge in the two overtime
periods.
Haverford goalie Joe Banno, who posted a career-best 20 saves in
the last meeting between the two teams, registered double-digits
again with 14 saves in Friday's win. Dickinson's Magann finished
with six saves.
The semifinal victory sets up a rematch in Sunday's championship
final with Gettysburg who won the initial meeting of the year by
holding on for a 10-9 win after at one point owning a 7-2 lead over
the Fords. The same two teams met in 2009's tournament final with
the Bullets pulling out a 12-5 win at Swan Field.
