HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College field hockey offense was clicking in a 3-1 win over visiting Eastern on Saturday afternoon at Swan field. The dynamic duo of sophomore Kelsey Chai and first year Ravenel Davis teamed up for all three of the Haverford goals on the day, with Davis slotting two shots off Chai passes past the Eastern goalkeeper and Chai adding a late strike off a perfectly placed ball from Davis. First year goalkeeper Hannah Roth made four saves in another solid 70 minutes between the pipes. Haverford improves to 3-0 while Eastern falls to 1-3 on the year in defeat.
The scoring opened in the 10th minute as the Fords found the back of the cage on just their second shot of the contest. Chai discovered the waiting stick of Davis in front of the goalmouth, and Davis punched home the cross to give the hosts the early lead with her second of the season. As time expired in the first half, Haverford was awarded a penalty stoke after a hard foul in the circle. Allyson Lynch took the attempt, but her swift shot found metal, hitting the near post and deflecting out of play, giving the ball to Eastern with just over one second left in the first period.
Haverford owned a 15-1 shot advantage in the first half, and held a 7-0 advantage in corners after 35 minutes of play.
On just Eastern's second penalty corner attempt of the contest, Lindsay Estep sent a rocket past Roth, but Alissa Valentine was waiting in front of the goal line to deny the attempt, picking up a defensive save in the early moments of the second period. The Eagles eventually found the equalizer in the 60th minute, as Alison Hoag took an initial penalty corner feed from Harper Sellers and made a solo run into the circle, fighting her way for a strong shooting angle before besting a sprawled out Roth towards the far post.
Undaunted, Haverford answered on its very next shot in the 61st minute. As was the case with the first goal, Chai sent a centering pass down low into the circle and following a momentary deflection from the stick of the Eastern defender, Davis was able to corral the pass and rocket a shot into the back of the cage for her third score of the season and a 2-1 lead. In the 64th minute, the Fords grabbed an insurance goal following an Eastern timeout. This time it was Davis who found Chai, as the sophomore hammered home a Davis cross for a 3-1 advantage for the Fords.
Roth was tested in the final minutes; hanging tough with a short-handed Eastern side that earned a pair of corners and peppered the cage after Ali Balmer was shown a yellow card with less than five minutes to play in regulation.
The Fords finished with a 22-9 overall advantage in shots and an 8-7 edge in penalty corners. Marley Redfield was a standout for Eastern, stopping 12 shots. Roxy Vassighi was an anchor of the Haverford offense with seven shot attempts, including six on frame. Haverford has now started 3-0 for the second straight season. Last season, Haverford began the fall slate 5-0 en-route to the Centennial Conference semifinals.
Haverford will return to action on Tuesday with a midweek road contest at Immaculata. First pass is slated for 6 p.m. Last season, Haverford took down the Mighty Macs by a final score of 7-3 on Swan Field. Haverford is 14-4-1 all-time against Immaculata, including wins in the last 13 meetings.