HAVERFORD, Pa. – Nine second half goals aided the Haverford College women's lacrosse team in its 13-10 Centennial Conference victory over visiting Muhlenberg College Saturday afternoon. Down by one at the half, Haverford scored the first two goals of the second half and never trailed again.
Haverford (8-0, 1-0 CC) halted a four-game losing streak to the Mules, picking up its first win over Muhlenberg (5-2, 0-2 CC) since 2005.
Josie Ferri played a big part in the Fords' victory as four of her five goals came in the second half. Jen Schmidt added four goals and Kayleigh Herrick-Reynolds found the back of the net three times. Alexa Pesce dished out a game-high three assists.
The Mules were led by Amanda McGovern's three-goal effort. Danielle Rosen and Danielle Scarrone each tallied two goals.
The Fords established an early two goal lead thanks to Schmidt and Ferri, but Muhlenberg took all the momentum thanks to a string of four straight goals to give them a 4-2 advantage with less than 10 minutes to play in the first.
Herrick-Reynolds and Schmidt sandwiched goals between one from Scarrone to pull the Fords with one, 5-4, at halftime.
The second half began the way the first did for the Fords. Two early goals from Schmidt put HC on top, 6-5. After a goal by Rosen at the 22:40 mark tied the score, Ferri put the Fords on her back. She scored three times in less than four minutes to give Haverford a three-goal lead, 9-6.
Alyssa Bascelli scored to end the run, but Ferri added another goal with 18:35 showing. Herrick-Reynolds tacked on two more goals to bump the lead to 12-8 with less than six minutes remaining. McGovern netted a pair of goals 50 seconds apart to pull the Mules within two with 3:31 left, but the Fords managed to hold possession long enough to run down the clock. Nora Proops scored with 1:22 left to provide the final margin.
Both of Haverford's goalies played well. Leah Hammerschlag recorded five saves in the first 30 minutes. Siobhan Neitzel (2-0) made a number of key saves down the stretch to thwart any ideas of a comeback by the Mules. She was credited with the win, making seven saves. Allisyn Vachon (5-2) took the loss, making two saves on the day.
The Fords return to action Wednesday evening when they travel to Ursinus College for a 7 p.m. start.
