Centennial Field Hockey Championship Central
Tournament Program
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College field hockey team begins its second consecutive postseason journey on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. as the Fords take on Dickinson at Biddle Field in Carlisle, Pa in the Centennial Conference Tournament first round game. Haverford comes into the contest with a 10-7 overall mark (6-4 CC) while Dickinson sits at 11-6 overall (6-4 CC).
The two squads met in the first conference competition for each team on Sept. 17, also in Carlisle. The Red Devils came away victorious on their home field, with the teams each tying in shots (11) and penalty corners (9). Haverford owned the shots on goal advantage with seven to six for the hosts. After conceding one early in each half, Haverford came up with an Elena Veale goal in the 58th minute of action, but the strike was too late as Dickinson was able to run out the clock with a defensive-minded strategy in the tense final moments of action.
The Fords are making their seventh appearance in the Centennial Conference tournament and a second-consecutive trip. Haverford has advanced to at least the semifinal round in every year it has earned a berth in the conference playoffs, including two trips to the Centennial Conference Championship under head coach Jackie Cox, the last coming in 2012. The Fords are searching for their first trip to the NCAA tournament.
This will be the first postseason matchup between Haverford and Dickinson. Dickinson owns an 18-6 all-time advantage over Haverford, but the Fords have won four of the seven matchups between the two squads with Cox at the helm. Haverford comes into the Wednesday afternoon contest with 10 wins, the sixth time in seven seasons with a double-digit win total. Haverford can match its win total from a season ago with a win over the Red Devils.
The Fords have relied on Paige Carson and Mason McNulty for much of the scoring output this season, with the pair combining for 16 goals on the season. McNulty's four game-winning tallies is tied for the third most in program history. Elena Veale has tallied five goals this season while freshman Lucy Tortolani has four goals, including two game winners.
Defensively, Natalie Leslie (12 defensive saves) and Caroline Aronowitz (five defensive saves) have anchored a backline that has held opponents to a 1.67 goals against average. Haverford has posted 18 defensive saves, the most in a single season at Haverford since 2005. Two-time Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week Danielle Rette is having a breakout season in goal, with five shutouts added to her resume that includes 97 saves and a 1.72 GAA.
For Dickinson, offense has been the name of the game with Chelsea Kramer (18 goals) and Catherine Perlmutter (16) both near the top of the Centennial in the category. Freddie Bancroft (6-6, 2.11 GAA, 59 saves) and Heather Meeder (5-0, 0.58 GAA) have both seen time between the pipes. Last season, Dickinson fell in the Centennial semifinals to Franklin & Marshall, 1-0.