true Tweet #GwyneddSports


Haverford 10, Gwynedd Mercy 9


BOX SCORE


GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. -- Haverford handed Gwynedd Mercy its first loss of the season in a close 10-9 decision Wednesday afternoon.

The Griffins (4-1) were looking to get off to their best start in program history, but the Fords (3-2) rallied in the second half.

Junior Tony McCraw (Lawnton, Pa./Central Dauphin East) paced Gwynedd with three goals and an assist while Nick Guglielmi (Holland, Pa./Council Rock South) added two goals as the Griffins would lead 4-0 after the first quarter. McCraw got things going 8:36 into the first as the team took advantage of a Haverford penalty to score on the man-up on an assist from sophomore Jacob Snavely (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks South). Snavely would net his first career tally with help from McCraw just under three minutes later.

Paul Hackett put the Fords on the board early in the second but Guglielmi would counter with an unassisted goal minutes later. Haverford would catch a break, scoring on their final possession with less than a second in the half to cut the Gwynedd lead to 6-3 at the break.

Leading 9-7 at the end of the third, Geoff Geppert scored his third of the day early in the fourth and Haverford would tie it with just over a minute later on a score from Evan Dorman. Patrick Girard gave the Fords its first lead of the game with 7:27 to go.

Gwynedd would get a possession with three minutes to go but their shot attempt was stopped by goalie Eric Caliendo. Haverford would clear and look to milk the clock with under a minute to play. The Griffin defense was able to force a turnover and set up offensively. After a timeout with 19 ticks on the clock, Gwynedd looked for the equalizer but was unable to get a shot off before the final horn.

Geppert added three assists while Dorman and Jack Bodine had two goals apiece. Caliendo finished with eight stops for the Fords.

Senior goalie John Black (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) recorded his fifth-straight double-digit save performance, making 13 on the day.

GMercyU led in groundballs, 26-23, but was outshot, 39-31, and 11-4 in the fourth quarter. The defense killed off four man-down opportunities.

The Griffins are back in action on Saturday when they welcome Messiah on Saturday in a noon start.