CARLISLE, Pa. - The 12th-ranked Dickinson men's lacrosse team made a massive statement to the rest of the Centennial Conference on Saturday afternoon, as five goals from
Matt Thurston led a group of ten different goal scorers for the Red and White as they dominated the 16th-ranked Swarthmore College 17-4 in front of a raucous crowd at Biddle Field.
The Devils came out firing on all cylinders in the first as
John McKee won the opening faceoff and watched
Seamus McCloskey ring the post, before Thurston stuck the rock behind Ryan Pretzer for the 1-0 lead just seven-seconds in. Less than a minute later DC would make it 3-0 thanks to tallies by
James Isaacson and McKee. Four of the next six shots went to the Garnet, but it would Thurston that cashed in his second of the frame. Two minutes later markers from Isaacson along with
Owen Porter off a faceoff win by McKee extended the Red and White advantage to 6-0. Swarthmore finally would solve Devils keeper
Chris Brandau thanks to Carter Strauch. DC went in search of a seventh prior to the end of the period, but Pretzer stood tall against Isaacson.
Both keepers were tested inside the first minute as Brandau shutdown Jackson Brosgol, while Pretzer had the answer for
Will Farrell. After Pretzer stopped
Sam Campbell, Porter struck unassisted leading to a string of six consecutive Red Devils shots with Pretzer being called upon twice against
Mac Childs and Porter. The Dickinson defense continued to lock all doors and windows against the Garnet as they would not allow a real clean look towards Brandau. The Red and White opened up a commanding ten-goal cushion heading into the break as
Skyler Schluter,
Sascha Gannon, Isaacson and Thurston each tickled the twine over the final seven minutes to lead 11-1 through 30-minutes.
The two sides traded the opening six shots of the third period, before Campbell would be stoned by Pretzer. On the ensuing loose ball Porter tracked it down and then found Gannon who setup Thurston to make it 12-1. After
Ren LaMotte and Farrell forced consecutive turnovers on the defensive end Thurston and Childs each deposited the rock beyond the reach of Pretzer to extend the margin out to 14-1 inside the final five minutes. Each goalie was tasked with making a save over the next two minutes, which led to two Garnet goals surrounding a marker from Campbell off the feed from
Ethan Gess giving DC a 15-3 advantage with three in the books.
An early turnover by George Schoettle allowed
Ben Tomick to collect a groundball, which led to him finding an open
Ethan Ackerman for the finish. Swarthmore recorded the next two chances, forcing another stop from Brandau. The Devils rode the momentum of that save to their 17th marker of the contest when Isaacson setup Farrell for a rocket and the 17-3 advantage. After that goal
Patrick Scarborough took over between the pipes for Brandau and immediately shutdown Nolan Ohrman. The Devils then stormed back down the field and got shots from Campbell and
Ben Trucksess, but went wide of new goalie Shane Nachshen. Swarthmore found the final goal of the game with 8:09 remaining when Danny Lowe beat Scarborough. Dickinson continued to go in search of another goal as
Josh Smith hit two posts, while
Charlie Baughan rang iron as well. The Red and White gave their third goalie of the game some run as
Ben Tompkins took over between the sticks with two minutes left, but did not have to make a save as the game ended.
Red Devil Leaders
Goals - Thurston (5), Isaacson (3), Porter (2)
Assists - McKee (2)
Groundballs - McKee (8),
Capp Reynolds,
Cole Schwartz and Tomick (4)
Saves - Brandau (11), Scarborough (3)
Garnet Leaders
Goals - Mabbs (2)
Assists - Brosgol (1)
Groundballs - Mabbs (4)
Saves - Pretzer (14)
Next on the Field
Dickinson (10-3, 4-1 Centennial) will go in search of the top-spot in the conference on Wednesday afternoon when they head to the battlefield for a matchup against the ninth-ranked Bullets of Gettysburg College.
