HAVERFORD, Pa. - For the first time in history, the Haverford College field hockey team defeated a Gettysburg College squad taking Saturday's back-and-fourth Centennial Contest by a 5-4 count on a last-minute goal by Juliana Morgan-Trostle.
Haverford (5-2, 1-1 CC) had lost all 17 contests played against Gettysburg (3-3, 1-1 CC) since the two teams began play with the initiation of the Centennial in 1993.
Senior Alex Waleko led the Fords with three goals, also taking over the top spot on the program's scoring list with a total of 32 career goals.
The Bullets scored first early in the contest but Waleko notched the next two goals to give the Fords their first lead of the game.
Gettysburg evened things up right before the half, establishing a pattern that would rule until the closing minute of the contest.
Mary Hobbs, who had picked up the assist on Waleko's second tally, put Haverford ahead in the 52nd minute but three minutes later the Bullets tied the score.
Waleko pushed the Fords back in front in the 62nd off an assist from Morgan-Trostle, however, with less than four minutes to play, Hayward Sawers scored her second of the game as Gettysburg knotted things up for the fourth time.
As time wound down towards the final minute and shortly after a penalty corner chance, Waleko had the the ball on her stick as she carried into the half-circle. Gettysburg goalie Megan Feeg charged out to challenge Waleko who saw a wide-open Morgan-Trostle behind the netminder.
A quick flip by Waleko gave Morgan-Trostle possession with an open goal in front of her. She buried the easy shot for the game-winner sending Haverford to its first win over the Bullets.
Feeg finished the game with six saves while Fords goalie Maggie Cronin ended with eight saves in the win. Late in the second half Roxanne Jaffe and Sarah Crist each registered a defensive save for the Fords on nearly back-to-back Gettysburg shots.
On par with the narrow winning margin, Haverford finished with a narrow 18-17 lead in shots and a 15-11 advantage in corner opportunities.
Next up for Haverford is a trip to Muhlenberg (0-7, 0-1 CC) for a Wednesday, September 29 contest at 7:30 p.m.
