Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/13/25 – From Press Release
Gavin Gismondi (West Deptford-NJ) scored the tying goal and the winning goal with 1.4 seconds left in overtime as the host York College men’s lacrosse team rallied for a thrilling 11-10 victory over previously unbeaten and No. 11 Swarthmore at home on Wednesday night.
The Spartans (4-2) overcame an early 6-0 deficit with an 11-4 run through the final four periods. Dylan McDougall (Penncrest) scored twice and Nash Womack (Episcopal Academy) posted 11 saves, while Colin Kane (Haverford High) had a groundball and a caused turnover while anchoring the defense to help York.
How It Happened
The Garnet (6-1) had all the right moves early and put on an offensive clinic to take a 6-0 lead after one quarter of play. After a near seven-minute feeling out process, Swarthmore dropped the hammer and scored three goals in a two-minute span to spark their six-goal run. The Garnet completely dominated the first quarter as they out-shot the Spartans, 17-5, while also going 6-for-6 on the clear and did not commit a single turnover.
Colby Berard netted the first goal for York which came less than 30 seconds into the second quarter, but the Garnet responded less than a minute later as Rex Mabbs (3G) scored for the second time on the night. From there, the rest of the quarter belonged to the Spartans as they went on a 4-0 run to end the period capped by an energy goal by Erik Pearl which gave York two goals in a span of 13 seconds.
Despite being held to just three shots in the third quarter, the Garnet managed to score twice and held a 9-6 lead with 5:04 left in the period with momentum on their side. However, the tide suddenly turned back into York’s favor as Swarthmore ended the quarter with no more shots and turned the ball over on their final three possessions. York took advantage of the Garnet’s miscues and used goals by Coleton Mahorney and Colby Berard to cut the Swat lead down to one, 9-8, heading into the fourth quarter.
The Spartans turned up the pressure another notch in the fourth quarter and out-shot the Garnet, 17-5, but Swarthmore goalies Drew Tyson (8) and Ryan Petzer (2) combined for 10 saves as they did their best to stifle the York barrage. McDougall tied the game up with just under seven minutes left, but Clay Almgren put the Garnet back on top, 10-9, two minutes later. Following Almgren’s goal, the Spartans came up with a big defensive stop which turned into a Gismondi game-tying goal with 2:31 left to ultimately send the game into overtime.
The pace of the four-minute overtime period was fast and furious as both teams desperately wanted to come out on top. As the clock wound below 30 seconds left, Swarthmore had possession on a clearing attempt, but Emmett Harris coughed it after being harassed by Colin Kane. Conor Stewart came out of the crowd with the loose ball and started a fast break with under 10 seconds left.
Stewart quickly moved the ball over the midfield line to Davis Fisher who threw a perfectly placed pass 15 yards up the field to a wide open Gismondi who was able to catch and fire a low shot past Tyson for the dramatic game-winning tally.
Clay Almgren had two goals and three assists for Swarthmore.
