BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- Off of a season high in team goals just three days prior, the men's lacrosse team made their way up to Bridgewater for a Saturday afternoon conference clash. Knotted up at eight through three quarters, the Quakers outscored the Eagles 6-1 down the stretch en route to a decisive 14-9 victory, their second straight.
Guilford goes back over .500 with a 6-5 record, and a 3-1 record against conference opponents. Bridgewater drops to 3-8, 1-3 against the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).
Despite being outshot 39-32, GC ended up dishing the ball three more times than their counterparts, and were more accurate in front of goal.
Darius Safavi-Abbassi (Culver City, Calif.) improved to 6-4 on the season, posting 13 saves in the winning effort. Opposing goalies Zach Guthrie-Pimpinella and Gabe Wallman could not stop the potent Guilford offense, especially late in the contest. Both gave up seven behind the posts.
Gabe Alvarez (Cary, N.C.) had a four-goal day, overall with five points in the afternoon. Seth Woods (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) and Andrew Burch (Cary, N.C.) posted hat-tricks, the latter with three assists as well with a team-high six points. As for the Eagles, two of their own scored hat-tricks, Trevor McClelland and Riley Stewart.
Despite going only 8-27 from the faceoff circle, Jax Atkins (Mechanicsville, N.C.) accounted for four ground balls, a team-high, and had a score himself. Wyatt Dwyer (Seattle, Wash.) was relentless on the defensive end, with three caused turnovers.
The visitors got the scoring underway fast, Woods scoring just over a minute and half into the contest. Turnovers became aplenty for both sides, neither able to get any semblance of offense going. Gavin Brown (Charleston, S.C.) broke the ice after the clock passed five minutes in the period, and Bashwyn Fitch (Charleston, S.C.) scored thirty seconds after for a quick 3-0 lead. The Eagles got on the board at last roughly a minute later, but Burch restored Guilford's three-goal cushion before the stanza came to a close.
GC found their stride as the second went underway, netting three goals in just over three minutes, completely overwhelming the Eagles defense. Up 6-2 at this point, Bridgewater got the reply they needed, cutting their deficit to three. A stalemate for the next bit ensued with the home side's fourth, but Burch was at it once more, scoring his second of the contest, making the score 7-4 as the teams broke for halftime.
The Eagles weren't down and out yet, and made their statement as they scored two goals in quick succession after the nine-minute mark to cut Guilford's lead to just one. Atkins was able to restore some normalcy after winning the ensuing faceoff, but the Eagles repeated what happened previously, scoring shortly after their own faceoff win to make the scoreline 8-7 in the Quakers' favor. Bridgewater tied it up at eight just a few minutes later, with much more game to play as the final period approached.
The quarter change seemed to be just what Guilford needed, completely flipping a switch and charging ahead. By the time the clock went under 10 minutes, Burch and Woods found their way back on the scoreboard, and helped Guilford restore a two-goal lead. Woods then completed his hat trick to cap off an efficient scoring effort from the visitors. The Eagles would score their ninth shortly after, but that was all that they could muster up the rest of the way. Three more goals from GC, including two from Alvarez helped cap off their best fourth quarter all season, with the final score being 14-9.
In the fourth stanza alone, Guilford outshot Bridgewater 13-6, and accounted for more ground balls as well.
The Quakers return home to Armfield for a clash against Randolph-Macon next Saturday, as the calendar turns to April. First faceoff on the 6th is set for 4:00 p.m.
