GREENSBORO, N.C.– The Guilford College men's lacrosse team (5-11, 3-6 ODAC) came up just short on Senior Day, falling 9-8 in a heartbreaking Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) contest against Shenandoah University (6-10, 3-6 ODAC) on Saturday afternoon at Appenzeller Field.
In the final box score, Shenandoah outshot Guilford 52-40, with a 25-18 edge in shots on target. The Hornets also collected 30 ground balls to Guilford's 20 and were successful on 19-of-21 clear attempts. The Quakers forced 18 turnovers while committing 15 of their own and went 1-of-2 on extra-man opportunities. Shenandoah finished 1-of-5 with the man advantage. Both teams battled in a physical matchup that saw a combined nine penalties.
Darius Safavi-Abbassi (Culver City, Calif.) was the last man in the Quaker defense, keeping the Quakers in the game throughout, finishing with 16 saves on 25 shots on goal, allowing nine goals. After today, the junior's save percentage moves to a .516 and his overall record drops to 5-10 overall. Mark Isabelle represented the Hornets in net, notching ten saves on 18 shots on goal, allowing eight goals. Isabelle's record improves to 6-10 overall.
Davis Palombo (Greensboro, N.C) and
Bashwyn Fitch (Charleston, S.C.) led the Quakers offense as both recorded a hat-trick each, making it Palombo's fifth game-in-a-row where he's notched at least three goals and Fitch's third hat-trick of the season. Our newest member of the 100-point club,
Seth Woods (Hilton Head Island, S.C.), notched a pair of goals to close out Guilford's scoring efforts.
Gavin Brown (Charleston, S.C.) assisted on three goals, producing great play as a distributor.
Drew Sizemore (Greensboro, N.C) led with five caused turnovers and four ground balls, allowing him to beat out his previous single-season record of caused turnovers (36). Sizemore now sits at 40 total, while
Wyatt Dwyer (Seattle, Wash) added three takeaways to his own statline, pushing him to 39 total, trailing his fellow teammate.
The Quakers opened the game with momentum and energy, fueled by the occasion and the home crowd. Palombo kicked off the scoring with a solo effort at the 9:26 mark of the first quarter. Fitch then added two goals, one with just four seconds left in the quarter, to give Guilford a 3-0 lead at the end of one. Safavi-Abbassi made four crucial saves to preserve the shutout through the first frame.
The second quarter saw Shenandoah storm back with five goals, capitalizing on Guilford penalties and turnovers. Jake Green and Bryan Berryhill scored early in the period before Woods stopped the run momentarily with a goal at 6:22. Palombo then tallied back-to-back goals, both assisted by Brown, to give Guilford a 6-3 lead. However, Shenandoah responded with two late tallies to trim the deficit to 6-5 at halftime.
Coming out of the break, Guilford struck first again, as Woods converted a man-up opportunity assisted by Brown at 10:07. But Shenandoah continued to push the pace and scored quickly in response. Fitch completed his hat trick late in the third quarter to extend the Quakers' lead to 8-6.
The fourth quarter proved decisive. Shenandoah's Dylan Foughty netted his second and third goals of the day, including the go-ahead score at 3:35. Despite multiple chances in the final minutes, including a pair of shots from Palombo and one from Brown, Guilford could not find the equalizer. Shenandoah goalie Mark Isabelle stood tall in net with 10 saves, including several key stops in the final minutes.
The Men's Lacrosse team will close out the regular season on Wednesday, April 23, with a road matchup against Hampden-Sydney College. Faceoff is scheduled for 5 PM.
#GoQuakes
