TOWSON, Md. - Goucher has played Swarthmore every year since the two first met back in 1999, making today's game the 10th in the all-time series between the two schools.

Seven of the games - including today's - have been decided by a single goal. And five times - including today - the game-winning goal was scored in overtime.

Today it was an extra-man goal by Ben Young with 1:48 remaining in the second overtime period that provided the Garnet (5-4) with a 7-6 victory over the Gophers.

The two teams were never separated by more than two goals and they were tied at 3-3 heading into the final minute of the third quarter. Swarthmore not only broke the deadlock on a goal by Will Predun with :42 remaining in the period, but also took a 5-3 lead when Young scored with just :08 showing on the clock.

The Gophers (6-3) spent the entire fourth quarter trying to catch up and finally did on an unassisted goal by Casey Hughes with just :13 remaining in regulation.

Both goalkeepers had to make one save in the first OT. Swarthmore's Frank Mazzucca turned away a total of 14 shots; Goucher's Austin Main also made a save in the second OT and finished with nine.

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TOWSON, Md. - Garnet junior midfielder Ben Young (Washington, D.C. / St. Alban's) scored the game-winning goal 6:12 into overtime as the Swarthmore men's lacrosse team snapped a four-game skid with a 7-6 win at Goucher Wednesday afternoon.

Young had two goals and an assist as Swarthmore improved to 5-4 overall and beat the Gophers (6-3) in overtime for the fourth time in six seasons.

The Garnet held a 6-4 lead after junior midfielder Dave DeSimone (Ronkonkoma, N.Y. / Connetquot) tallied his fifth goal of the season off a feed from Young at the 12:11 mark. DeSimone scored twice on the afternoon, the first multi-goal game of his career.

Goucher scored the next two goals to send the contest into extra time. The annual non-conference battle is no stranger to one-goal decisions. Last season Swarthmore won at home 5-4 in two extra periods after outlasting the Gophers 8-7 in three overtimes in 2006.

The Garnet again would taste victory as Young took a pass from sophomore Tyler Bradshaw (Marietta, Ga. / Lassiter) and scored on an extra-man opportunity with 1:48 left in the second overtime.

Goucher controlled many parts of the stat sheet, grabbing 48 ground balls to Swarthmore's 27 while posting 36 shots to 30 for the Garnet. The biggest swing came as Swarthmore successfully killed off four Goucher extra-man opportunities.

Senior defender Drew Bonessa (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shady Side) led the Garnet with eight ground balls while winning eight of 14 faceoffs. Swarthmore goalie Frank Mazzucco '08 (Redding, Conn. / Joel Barlow) made 14 saves in between the pipes.

The Garnet conclude its current three-game road trip at McDaniel College this Saturday, April 5 with a 3:00 p.m. Centennial game. Swarthmore returns home on Wednesday, April 9 to face fifth-ranked Washington (Md.) in a 7:00 p.m. Centennial contest.

2008-04-02