CARLISLE, Pa. – In the Centennial Conference opener for both teams, the Haverford College field hockey team was narrowly edged by Dickinson by a final tally of 2-1. The Fords and Red Devils were evenly matched throughout the contest, with the two squads recording the same number of shots (11) and penalty corners (9). Haverford falls to 3-3 on the season (0-1 Centennial) while Dickinson now sits at 3-2 (1-0 Centennial).

Haverford drew its first penalty corner in the sixth minute of play, but a shot by Stephanie Terrell sailed wide. The Fords earned a second corner in the 20th minute, with Elena Veale also shooting wide of the cage.  Dickinson broke through with its second penalty corner of the morning, as Catherine Perlmutter inserted to Kim Monteferante, who found Taylor Bednar in the circle. Bednar was able to hammer it home for her first of the season, giving Dickinson a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute.

At the halftime break, the Fords trailed 4-2 in shots while Dickinson held a 6-4 advantage in penalty corners.

In the 37th minute, the Red Devils were awarded a penalty corner and a flurry of shots ensued. Monteferante rocketed a strike, but Danielel Rette was able to corral it for a save. A second shot off the rebound was saved by Natalie Leslie, giving the Fords' defender her Centennial-best seventh defensive save of the year.  A second consecutive penalty corner went to Dickinson, but Rette made a save on an Amber Dey attempt to end the threat.

In the 41st minute, Dickinson extended its advantage to 2-0 as Chelsea Kramer took a feed from Dey and converted. Haverford called a timeout to regroup following the score and came out with a renewed energy.  In the 53rd minute, the Fords tallied three consecutive shots, with Heather Meeder making impressive saves to keep the visitors off the scoreboard. The Fords broke through in the 58th minute as Elena Veale took an assist from Rachel Gordon and scored to cut the Dickinson lead to just one at 2-1.

Haverford had an outstanding shot to tie the score in the 64th minute as a ball played into the circle found the stick of Mason McNulty, who was playing low in front of goal and looked poised to get a deflection into the left side of the cage. The attempt sailed just wide of the goal, but the offensive pressure was enough to force Dickinson into a timeout.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the McNulty attempt would represent the last shot of the contest, as Dickinson was able to keep the defensive pressure on just enough to escape with a 2-1 win at home.

Rette made four saves for Haverford while Alissa Valentine and Veale tied with the team lead in shots with three. Kramer was the highest volume attack for the Red Devils, with six shots. Meeder made five saves.

Haverford next returns to the friendly confines of Swan Field for a Wednesday night non-conference battle with Misericordia at 5:00 p.m. before welcoming in #15 Rowan to Swan Field on noon next Saturday.