COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – A second-half rally fell short for the Haverford College field hockey team as it dropped a 6-3 decision to No. 3 Ursinus College in Sunday's championship final of the Centennial Conference tournament.
The Fords (14-5) were making their first trip into the championship game following Saturday's semifinal victory over Johns Hopkins University. The host Bears from Ursinus (17-1), the six-time defending conference champion, earned their way into the final with a semifinal win over Washington College.
A 4-0 halftime lead for the Bears grew by one with a penalty stroke goal 68 seconds into the second stanza, but the Fords began a rally with consecutive goals shortly thereafter.
Roxanne Jaffe converted a penalty stroke opportunity in the 45th minute, then Mary Hobbs scored her 19th of the season three minutes later to trim the lead to three.
Ursinus answered back quickly with another goal but Juliana Morgan-Trostle grabbed a rebound off the post in the 53rd minute and scored her 21st of the year to once again pull Haverford back within three.
The Fords weathered a nine minute stretch after Morgan-Trostle's goal in which the Bears got off six consecutive shots -- four saved by goalie Maggie Cronin, one a defensive save by Margaret Selsor, and the other wide -- then stormed into their offensive end to return the favor.
For the next six minutes Haverford earned six penalty corner opportunities and got off six shots, five on frame but saved by Bears goalie LauraLee Lightwood-Mater to end the valiant Fords' rally.
Cronin finished the game with a career-high 24 saves while Lightwood-Mater registered eight in the win.
The loss can't put a damper on the season the Fords put together in 2010 as the team won a program-record 14 games, finished third in the regular season for the first time, and won their first league tournament semifinal reaching the conference championship game for the first time.
These results, along with the battle the Fords put up against the highly-ranked Bears Sunday afternoon, may help Haverford extend its season with an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament. Those bids will be announced Monday morning.