Box Score

The Muhlenberg men's lacrosse team started and ended regulation with scoring flourishes, but Swarthmore struck in overtime to walk away with an 8-7 Centennial Conference win.

The Mules (3-4, 0-2), playing their first night game of the season, were ready for prime time at the start. Senior Conner Burdick, making his first career start, scored just three minutes into the game, one-timing a pass from behind the cage by senior John Hetzel. Midway through the first quarter, senior Jon Thomas picked up a rebound, raced the length of the field and buried a shot to make it 2-0.

Junior Steven Casella gave Muhlenberg a 3-0 edge late in the first, and in the second sophomore Brad D'Alessandro converted a pass from Hetzel into a sweet behind-the-back man-up goal that extended the lead to 4-0.

Swarthmore (5-2, 1-1) scored off the ensuing faceoff, however, starting a long dry spell for the Mules. It would be more than 34 minutes of playing time before Muhlenberg scored again, and by that time the Garnet had a 7-4 lead.

Senior Pat Farrell began the comeback by scoring his first goal of the season with 7:55 to play. At 4:29, freshman Niko Del Moro (pictured above) found the back of the net to bring the Mules to within a goal.

Muhlenberg appeared to have lost a shot to tie the game when it turned the ball over in the offensive end with under two minutes to play, but a good ride forced an offside call against Swarthmore. With 11.4 seconds left, senior Jason Mertz circled behind the net and fired a shot past the Garnet goalie for a dramatic tying goal.

The momentum did not spill over into the extra period, though, as Swarthmore won the opening faceoff and scored on its first shot 51 seconds in, ending the fifth one-goal game played by the two teams since 2003.

The Mules had a 37-31 advantage in shots and forced 25 turnovers. Sophomore Tom Kellerman caused two of the turnovers, adding to his CC-leading total, and picked up a team-high five ground balls.