GREENSBORO, N.C.– The Guilford College men's lacrosse team edged out a gritty 7-5 victory against Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) opponent Bridgewater College on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Appenzeller Field. The win marks Guilford's fourth victory of the season and their second in conference play, improving to 4-10 (2-5 ODAC) on the year. The Eagles drop to 5-10 (3-5 ODAC).
The stat line across the board was pretty balanced amongst both teams. Bridgewater had more shots on target than the Quakers, amounting 41 shots compared to the home teams 30. In the circle, the Eagles were victorious winning ten of the 15 faceoffs, while securing 35 ground balls compared to Guilford's 27. Caused turnovers were split evenly with both sides causing 13 a piece.
In a low-scoring affair, the Quakers relied on defensive resilience and timely scoring to secure the home win. Goalkeeper
Darius Safavi-Abbassi (Culver City, Calif.) was the backbone of Guilford's effort, turning aside 18 shots while allowing just five goals, finishing the day with a career-best .783 save percentage. The junior improved to a record of 4-9. Gabe Wallman was the man in goal for the opposition, making eight saves against seven goals conceded. Wallman's record drops to 5-9 .
Davis Palombo (Greensboro, N.C) continues to lead the offense in style, notching his fourth hat-trick of the season.
Bashwyn Fitch (Charleston, S.C.) and
Seth Woods (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) both contributed a twin-bill of goals rounding out Guilford's scoring efforts.
Drew Sizemore (Greensboro, N.C.) secured a game-high seven ground balls, alongside three caused turnovers, showcasing his defensive resilience.
Cole Plaster (Culpeper, Va.) followed Sizemore contributing a trio of caused turnovers, paired with two ground ball recoveries.
Ezekiel Gravley (Summerfield, N.C.) pitched into the ground ball effort with three of his own.
Wyatt Dwyer (Seattle, Wash.) contributed with a trio of ground balls alongside two caused turnovers.
Issac Beals and Owen Cogan both scored two a piece while Jake Wagner scored one to round out the Eagles' scoring efforts.
It took only 50 seconds to get the Quakers on the board, thanks to a solo effort by Fitch who swerved through a few Eagles before having an open slot to put the Quakers up 1-nil. After a lot of back-and-forth, Fitch notched another for the Quakers at the 4:17 mark after a failed clear attempt by the opposition. However, Bridgewater responded with a three-goal run in under two minutes. Beals scored back-to-back goals, the second on a man-up opportunity, before Wagner capped the burst with a goal at 1:07. Guilford trailed 3-2 after one despite solid saves by Safavi-Abbassi to limit further damage.
Bridgewater pushed its lead to 4-2 early in the second quarter with an unassisted goal by Owen Cogan at 13:58. Guilford found an answer in the final two minutes of the half, as Woods scored unassisted at 1:32. The first half ended with the Eagles holding a narrow 4-3 edge, despite strong clearing and sustained defensive pressure by the Quakers.
The third quarter belonged to Guilford. Woods netted his second goal of the day just 16 seconds into the period to tie the game at 4-4. Although Cogan scored again for Bridgewater at 12:35, Guilford closed the quarter with two crucial goals. Palombo scored unassisted at 7:08 to tie it, then buried his second off an assist from Trail at 6:12 to give Guilford a 6-5 lead heading into the final frame.
Both teams tightened up defensively in the fourth, but Safavi-Abbassi came up with a series of critical saves, including three on consecutive Bridgewater possessions. After a series of penalties on both sides, the Quakers broke through once more with 26 seconds left, as Palombo completed his hat trick with another unassisted goal to seal the 7-5 win.
The Quakers return to action on Wednesday, April 16, when they travel to take on Randolph College in another ODAC matchup. Faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Lynchburg, Virginia.
#GoQuakes
