COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's lacrosse team battled 13th-ranked Haverford all the way to the end, before the Fords (10-3, 5-2 Centennial) locked a spot in the Centennial Conference playoffs with an 11-10 win over the Bears (8-5, 3-4 Centennial) Wednesday night at Snell Field.
The loss for Ursinus sets up a do-or-die game on Saturday with Muhlenberg. If Ursinus beats the Mules, and McDaniel loses to Gettysburg, Ursinus heads to the playoffs for the first time in school history.
The game-winning goal came across with 1:37 left in regulation as freshman midfielder Christian Clay scored his second goal of the game. Junior midfielder Phillip Valliant finished with a game-best three goals for Haverford.
For Ursinus, junior midfielder Jeff Ocampo (Palm Coast, Fla./Mantanzas) had two goals, as did senior midfielder Pat Gillen (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun). Junior midfielder Mike Bloom (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) added in two assists.
What almost became the turning point for Ursinus was a three-goal outburst in 17 seconds in the third quarter to take a 7-5 lead. The three goals were scored by junior long stick midfielder John Discepola (Woodbury, N.J./West Deptford), freshman midfielder Shawn Caven (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) and Ocampo. Caven had an outstanding day at the X, going 17-for-22 on faceoffs.
Haverford, however, responded with a four-goal run of its own to take a 9-7 lead with 2:33 left in the third quarter. Ursinus responded back with two straight goals, including one by Gillen with 13:07 left in regulation to tie the game at 9-all. Gillen's second goal of the day with 4:15 left forced the final tie at 10-all.
For Ursinus, Caven had 11 ground balls, while senior defender Logan Duffie (Glen Mills, Pa./Penncrest) had two caused turnovers.
Sophomore goalkeeper Josh Baker (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) made 12 saves in the loss.