February 25, 2012
Conway's Late Goal Gives Men's Lacrosse Dramatic 8-7 Season-Opening Win Over Eastern
SWARTHMORE, Pa.—The Swarthmore College men's lacrosse team (1-0) started off the 2012 campaign with a bang thanks to sophomore Brendan Conway, who scored the go-ahead goal with 1:45 remaining to give the Garnet an 8-7 victory over Eastern on Saturday afternoon from Clothier Field.
Sophomore Jonathan Molloy led a balanced Garnet scoring attack with two goals. Senior Max Hubbard, senior John Bukawyn, junior Wes Marcik and junior Steve Selverian also scored for Swarthmore in its season-opening win.
Chris Farrar led Eastern (0-1) with three goals, including two in the fourth quarter.
With the game tied 7-7 and under two minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Conway pressured Eastern defender Ben Swan deep in his own territory, forcing him to cough up the ball on a clear attempt. Conway scooped up the ground ball, darted for the front the net and managed to beat the goalie for proved to be the dramatic game-winner.
The fourth quarter was indicative of the entire game— evenly-played lacrosse with each team appearing on the verge of victory at some point. Just two minutes into the quarter, Molloy broke a 5-5 tie with his second goal of the game, set up on an assist from freshman Ian Lukaszewicz. But just when it appeared that Swat was about to pull away for good , the Eagles countered with a fast-break goal by Farrar to make it a 6-6 game
With under six minutes to go in the game, Swarthmore went back on top thanks to an unassisted goal from Belden, making it a 7-6 contest. But again, the Eagles refused to go away, leveling the score once again just 90 second later, as Farrar completed his hat trick on Eastern's third man-up goal of the game, making it a 7-7 contest.
With a 1:45 to go in regulation, Conway ended the back-and-forth battle once and for all, converting a hustle-induced turnover into the game-winning goal for the Garnet.
The first quarter saw each team get off to a slow start. Eastern midfielder Kyle Lansey scored first, but was matched by Molloy, making the score 1-1 after the first period.
The second quarter was won by the Garnet, which led 3-2 heading into the halftime break. Lansey recorded his second goal of the day at the start of the quarter for the Eagles, but Swarthmore came out on top at the end, courtesy of goals from Bukawyn and Selverian, the latter of which was an acrobatic tally in traffic.
At the start of the third, goals by Hubbard and Marcik gave the Garnet a three-goal lead at 5-2. It appeared as though the Garnet were in position to run away with the game, but the Eagles came storming back. Eastern scored two goals in two minutes - both man-up - cutting the Swarthmore lead to 5-4 with eight minutes to go in the period.
Conway also led the Garnet with a team-high five ground balls. Conway, Michael Girardi and Darrel Hunter all forced two turnovers apiece.
In goal for the Garnet, Michael Brockway made seven saves.
The Garnet will have a week to prepare for a road contest at 320 rival Widener on Saturday, March 3. Play is set for 1:00.
