WESTMINSTER, Md. — The No. 25 Haverford College women's lacrosse team (7-4, 2-0 CC) earned a commanding 17–5 victory over McDaniel (6-5, 0-2 CC) on Saturday at Gill Stadium, securing its first Centennial Conference road win of the season. Haverford used a dominant first half and an explosive second quarter to seize control, while the defense limited the Green Terror to just two goals before the break.
Brooke Epstein paced the Scarlet and Black with four goals and one assist, moving into third place all-time in program history in both points (251) and goals (186). Daniela Martini added one goal and three assists, while Mikelle Smith chipped in two goals. Defensively, Alexis Brown and Finley Jordan each caused two turnovers, with Brown and Lily Provost collecting three ground balls apiece. In goal, Shaina Lewis made five saves to earn the win, while Ella Salvador saw time in the second half.
Haverford opened the scoring at 11:13 of the first quarter as Smith finished a feed from Martini to make it 1–0. Epstein followed with a free-position goal at 9:06, doubling the advantage to 2–0. McDaniel answered with a player-down tally from Addison Utterback at 8:27 (2–1), but the Fords responded late in the frame as Epstein struck again off a Martini assist at 2:28, giving Haverford a 3–1 lead after one.
The Fords broke the game open in the second quarter, outscoring the Green Terror 8–1. Bella Gattuso started the run with a goal at 13:54 (4–1), before Kalli Mullen converted a free-position chance at 9:55 to make it 5–1. McDaniel briefly halted the surge with a goal from Utterback at 6:01 (5–2), but the Scarlet and Black took over from there. Epstein netted her third of the day at 6:41 (6–2), sparking a flurry that included additional tallies from Haverford to close the half with an 11–2 advantage.
Out of the break, Haverford continued to apply pressure. Maggie Blanford scored her first career-goal at 13:57 to extend the lead to 12–2, and Georgia Buendia followed at 12:32 to make it 13–2. After the Green Terror cut into the deficit with a goal from Claire Hamilton at 4:18 (13–3), Natalie Frekko responded for the Fords, before Louisa Coughlin converted a free-position opportunity at 6:54 to push the margin to 15–3. McDaniel added a late goal from Hamilton at 1:24, but Haverford carried a 15–4 lead into the final quarter.
The Scarlet and Black added to their cushion early in the fourth, as Sophie Jaffe scored at 13:43 off an assist from Grace Kail to make it 16–4. McDaniel got one back from Utterback at 5:42 (16–5), but Mullen capped the scoring with her second goal of the contest at 3:56, sealing the 17–5 victory.
Haverford will return home next Saturday, April 4, to host Franklin & Marshall at Swan Field. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m.
