WESTMINSTER, Md. — The Haverford College men's lacrosse team (7-2, 1-0 CC) opened Centennial Conference play with a 10–5 victory over McDaniel (5-5, 0-1 CC) on Saturday at Gill Stadium. A decisive five-goal second quarter powered the Fords, who also controlled possession by winning 15 of 19 faceoffs and converting twice on extra-man opportunities. The Green Terror struggled to find consistent offense, managing just one goal in the second quarter and two more in the fourth.
Reid Tietjen led all scorers with six points on four goals and two assists, moving the senior into eighth all-time in program history with 168 career points. Will Weinstein matched Tietjen's four goals while adding an assist. Defensively, Nils Bergstrom and Ronan West each caused two turnovers, with West collecting a season-high seven ground balls. At the faceoff X, Max Esteban went 7-of-10, while Chris O'Connor dominated at 8-of-9. In goal, Mac Broaddus anchored the Scarlet and Black with 11 saves on 33 shots.
Haverford struck first after an opening faceoff win, as Philip Passalaqua finished a feed from Turner Elliott at 14:03. McDaniel answered with an equalizer from Cutter Stanton at 12:46, assisted by Aidan Skelly. The Scarlet and Black regained the lead on a man-up opportunity when Tietjen scored off a pass from Nick Snyder at 6:47, taking a 2–1 edge into the second quarter.
The Fords broke the game open in the second, with Tietjen fueling the surge. After briefly tying the score, Tietjen rattled off three goals in just over a minute to swing momentum firmly in Haverford's favor. Weinstein added to the run with a goal off a Tietjen assist, and later converted another man-up chance off a Passalaqua feed, giving Haverford a commanding 7–2 halftime lead.
Out of the break, the Scarlet and Black continued to apply pressure as Weinstein scored early in the third quarter. O'Connor's faceoff success helped maintain possession, limiting opportunities for the Green Terror. McDaniel eventually broke through late in the period, but Haverford still carried an 8–3 advantage into the final frame.
McDaniel made a push early in the fourth with back-to-back goals from Salerni and Cash Stanton to cut the deficit to three. However, the Fords responded decisively, as Mac Grubb finished an Elliott assist midway through the quarter. Weinstein later added the final tally with just over a minute remaining, sealing the 10–5 conference-opening victory for Haverford.
The Fords return home next, hosting Franklin & Marshall at Swan Field on Wednesday, March 25 at 7 p.m.
