HAVERFORD, Pa. – The 21st-ranked Haverford College women's lacrosse team (10–4, 3–2 CC) earned its third Centennial Conference win of the season in dominant fashion, defeating Muhlenberg (11–3, 3–2 CC) by a score of 16–6 Wednesday afternoon at Swan Field.
Daniela Martini recorded a season-high nine points, tallying eight assists and one goal. Her eight assists tied the Haverford single-game record for assists, previously set by Martini herself on April 24, 2024, against Moravian. The sixth assist of the matchup was the sophomore's 50th-career helper.
Offensively, she was joined by Brooke Epstein, who matched her season-high of eight points behind a season-best six goals and two assists.
On the defensive side, Finley Jordan led the charge with five caused turnovers and three ground balls. Lilly Provost, Lauren Anderson, Ellie Hughes, and Eva Baumann each caused two turnovers. In net, Annie Bravacos made six saves on 12 shots faced.
The Fords' offense set the tone early, outscoring the Mules 4–1 in the first quarter. Epstein opened the scoring with a player-up goal, followed by a strike from Martini at the 8:12 mark for a 2–0 lead. Epstein then added two more goals to complete a first-quarter hat trick before Jillian Kubikowski got the Mules on the board with 54 seconds left in the opening frame.
Epstein and Danielle Sautner traded goals early in the second quarter to bring the score to 5–2. From there, both defenses tightened, and neither team scored for the remainder of the first half.
Just 43 seconds into the third quarter, Bella Gattuso scored her first of the day to extend the lead to 6–2. Kubikowski responded quickly to make it 6–3, but Epstein pushed it back to 7–3 with her fourth goal of the game. Kubikowski completed her hat trick moments later, cutting the deficit to just three at 7–4. The Fords responded with goals from Sophie Jaffe and Natalie Frekko to take a 9–4 lead. Though Emily Vaughan pulled one back for Muhlenberg, Epstein scored again with just 13 seconds remaining in the quarter to give Haverford a 10–5 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Fords continued to pour it on in the final frame. Abby Bonner opened the quarter with her first goal, followed by Tiffany Mikulis, who extended the lead to 12–5. Kubikowski scored her fourth of the game to make it 12–6, but Ellie Hughes capped off the scoring with her first of the day, sealing a 13–6 win for the Fords.
Haverford now returns to action on Saturday, April 19, traveling to Carlisle, Pa., for a key Centennial Conference matchup—and a rematch of last season's first-round playoff game—against Dickinson. Opening draw is set for 12 p.m.
