PHILADELPHIA - Haverford College seniors Lauren Anderson and Brooke Epstein were each selected to the Philadelphia Sports Information Directors Association (PhillySIDA) Academic All-Area women's lacrosse team, the organization announced in a release on Tuesday. Epstein was the only junior to earn a spot on last year's team and is the lone repeat honoree on the 2026 squad.

The PhillySIDA Academic All-Area program features 30 schools from the Philadelphia region, with teams voted on by the area's athletic communications offices. To be eligible for Academic All-Area recognition, student-athletes must be in their second year at their current institution and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher.

Anderson, who earned All-America honors for the first time in her career, anchored Haverford's defense throughout the 2026 campaign while starting all 21 contests for the Scarlet and Black. A senior captain and dual-sport standout from Bala Cynwyd, Pa., Anderson also collected First Team All-Centennial Conference recognition after finishing the season with 54 ground balls, 24 caused turnovers, and 10 draw controls. She ranked second in the Centennial Conference in ground balls and 10th in caused turnovers.

Anderson posted three games with six or more ground balls, highlighted by a season-best eight ground balls at Lebanon Valley on March 4. She also collected six ground balls against both Mary Washington on March 14 and Ursinus on March 21, while forcing a season-high four caused turnovers in each contest.

Epstein concluded one of the most decorated careers in Haverford women's lacrosse history as the program's all-time leader in points (292), goals (219), free-position goals (46), and game-winning goals (13). One of the premier offensive players in Division III throughout her career, Epstein added another record-setting senior campaign in 2026, setting a new single-season school record with 99 draw controls and finishing first in the Centennial Conference with a career-best 67 goals.

Across 78 career appearances and 73 starts, Epstein compiled 219 goals and 73 assists while shooting better than 50 percent for her career. A three-time First Team All-Centennial Conference selection and three-time First Team IWLCA All-Metro Region honoree, Epstein posted three consecutive 60-goal seasons, including 67 goals and 87 points during her senior campaign after recording 66 goals and 89 points in 2025. The Hillsborough, N.C., native also totaled 225 career draw controls while establishing herself among the top offensive players in program history.

She recorded multiple caused turnovers in six games and contributed key possessions during postseason play, including two draw controls in the Centennial Conference semifinal victory over Swarthmore and two ground balls in the championship contest against Franklin & Marshall. In the NCAA Tournament second-round matchup against Tufts on May 10, she scooped up a game-high five ground balls and caused a game-high three turnovers.

Sophia Curtis of Ursinus was named Academic Performer of the Year, while three players from Rowan and three players from West Chester earned spots on the squad. Fiona Lockhart, Jenna O'Neill, and Madison Rothwein represented Rowan, while Madeline Edinger, Kendall Fortune, and Sydney Wasdick earned recognition for West Chester. Iris Gluck of Jefferson, Jessica Mantz of Widener, Annabel Stifler of Swarthmore, and Emma Verhoest of Villanova rounded out this year's team.

Haverford women's lacrosse continued its rise as one of the nation's premier programs in 2026, capturing the top seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament for the first time and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Fords have now reached three straight NCAA Tournaments and four of the last five, further cementing their place among the nation's best during a historic era for the program.