HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Haverford College women's lacrosse team (4-1) suffered its first loss of the 2025 season, falling 15-7 to host No. 20 Stevens (3-1) at the DeBaun Athletic Complex on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology, battling rainy and windy conditions in the Garden State.
Brooke Epstein led all Haverford scorers with three goals, while Abby Bonner chipped in two. Finley Jordan added four ground balls and three caused turnovers in a well-rounded effort on the defensive end.
Stevens' Emily Leiby had four goals and two assists, and teammate Stefanie Sellitto also scored four goals to help lead the charge for the Ducks. Emily Smart had a game-high four assists and two goals.
The hosts outshot Haverford 32-22 and had more ground balls (18-15). Haverford's Annie Bravacos had nine saves, while Stevens' Emma Guzowski had eight in goal to pick up the win. The Ducks dominated the draws, with a 21-5 edge, including nine from Sellitto and seven from Leiby.
Stevens came out firing, taking the first five shots of the contest. However, Bravacos was called into action to make saves on a pair of free-position opportunities for the Ducks, while another Alison Murray shot went wide.
Nearly seven minutes into the contest, Stevens struck first on a player-up goal from Leiby, who took a feed from Smart for her eighth tally of the season. Stevens notched the ensuing draw control from Sellitto, and Smart then scored just 40 seconds later to double the hosts' advantage to 2-0. Stevens extended the lead to 3-0 on a Rebecca Guerra free-position strike, and Sellitto made it 4-0 with her tally with 1:46 remaining in the quarter.
Tiffany Mikulis grabbed Haverford's first draw control of the night to begin the second quarter, and Abby Bonner lit the lamp just moments later, trimming the Stevens lead to just three. After Sellitto converted again, Bonner had a near-immediate answer with 4:34 left in the second quarter, converting a free-position shot as the Fords were back within three.
Stevens added another after the game was briefly paused due to scoreboard power issues, but Grace Kail added her second of the season to make it a 6-3 game. The Ducks briefly took a four-goal lead following a tally from Smart, but an early third-quarter goal from Brooke Epstein brought Haverford back within three again. Epstein tallied off a free-position shot, and suddenly the Fords were within just two on a player-up opportunity with 11:29 to play in the third quarter.
The Ducks went on a 2-0 run to recapture a four-goal lead with 9:59 remaining in the third, as Sellitto completed her hat-trick and Maddie Hogan poured in a goal. Hogan scored again at the 7:08 mark, but Mikulis pulled one back at the end of the third frame, with Haverford trailing 10-6.
Stevens went on a 4-0 run to begin the fourth quarter, effectively putting things out of reach as Alina Friz put her side up by eight with just 3:32 to play. Epstein completed her hat-trick in the waning moments to pull Haverford back within seven, but Leiby scored in the final minute for the eventual eight-goal margin.
The Fords now head out on their annual spring break trip, this time to the Sunshine State, with contests against Shenandoah (Monday, March 10) and #23 Messiah (Wednesday, March 12) on the docket for Clearwater, Florida.
