HAVERFORD, Pa. – The No. 8 Haverford men's lacrosse team scored four consecutive goals in the final 10 minutes of the game to break a 6-all and defeat Franklin & Marshall 10-6 in Centennial Conference (CC) action on Saturday.

Brian Fleishhacker and Max Hjelm posted five points with three goals and two assists apiece, while Mendlinger made 14 saves and only allowing six in the win for the Fords (9-2, 4-2 CC). Sean Oliver (Wilton, CT/Wilton) led the Diplomats (7-4, 3-3 CC) with a hat trick.

Oliver started the scoring in the first quarter with his first goal off a pass from Peter Moon (Durham, NC/Durham Academy) for a 1-0 edge, but Haverford used a 4-0 run to take a three-goal lead late in the second quarter.

The combination of Fleishhacker and Hjelm ignited the four unanswered goals. Hjelm then found the back of the net and Fleishhacker followed with his second goal, before assisting on the fourth for a 4-1 lead.

Jeff Ritter (Watchung, NJ/Watchung Hills) got F&M within two off a feed from Noah Wilkinsky (Ardmore, PA/Valley Forge Military) with 1:33 left until halftime.

After the Fords put up two more goals thanks to Fleishhacker and Hjelm to make it 6-3, the Diplomats evened the score with three straight goals, including one from Wilkinsky and two from Oliver. The first two goals happened over a 42-second span, with Wilkinsky finishing a pass from Sean Murphy (Towson, MD/Gilman) and Oliver getting the tally with eight seconds left in the third quarter.

Hjelm tallied his final goal and the first for Haverford in the fourth quarter, proving to be the game winner on an unassisted man-up opportunity at the 10-minute mark for a 7-6 advantage. The Fords added three more to put F&M out of reach to post their fourth conference win.

Chris Marcozzi (Springfield, PA/Malvern Prep) made eight saves and Jay Ridinger (Lititz, PA/Manheim Township) for the Diplomats.

F&M returns to action on Saturday at Washington. Game time is 7:00 p.m.

Score by Period       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Franklin & Marshall.  1  1  3  1 -  6
Haverford College...  2  2  2  4 - 10

Franklin & Marshall SCORING:
GOALS: Sean Oliver 3; Noah Wilkinsky 1; Mark Hild 1; Jeff Ritter 1.
ASSISTS: Peter Moon 1; Sean Murphy 1; Noah Wilkinsky 1.

Haverford College SCORING:
GOALS: B Fleishhacker 3; Max Hjelm 3; Mike Distler 1; Andrew Kim 1; M Thorne-Fitzgerald 1; Jason Leeds 1.
ASSISTS: B Fleishhacker 2; Max Hjelm 2; Mike Distler 1; Dean Granoff 1; Alex Guy 1.

Franklin & Marshall GROUND BALLS: Ian Lowe 3; Chris Marcozzi 3; Mark Hild 2; Brett Leppert 2; Jake Litke 2; Brian Williamson 2; Peter Moon 1; Mike Ohrnberger 1; Sean Oliver 1; Jay Ridinger 1; Noah Wilkinsky 1.

Haverford College GROUND BALLS: Grant Firestone 5; Dean Granoff 5; Joel Censer 3; Mike Distler 3; Jordan Daniels 2; Scott Kelley 2; Jake Mendlinger 2; Matt Dooley 1; B Fleishhacker 1; Shane Hafer 1; Matt Handel 1; Derek Lief 1; John Magovern 1; Matt Turnier 1.

SHOTS - Franklin & Marshall 32; Haverford College 35.
SHOTS ON GOAL - Franklin & Marshall 20; Haverford College 18.

PENALTIES - Franklin & Marshall 3/2:30; Haverford College 3/3:00.
MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - Franklin & Marshall 0-3; Haverford College 1-3.

FACEOFFS - Franklin & Marshall 9-19; Haverford College 10-19.

CLEARS - Franklin & Marshall 14-17; Haverford College 21-23.

GOALIES
F&M: Chris Marcozzi (60:00 minutes, 18 shots-8 saves, 10 GA).
HAV: Jake Mendlinger 9-2 (60:00, 20-14, 6).

2008-04-12