SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Haverford College field hockey team dropped its 2018 season finale to host Swarthmore on Saturday afternoon at Clothier Field, storming back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the score at 2-2 before conceding a second half goal, as Swarthmore grabbed the 3-2 victory at home. Allyson Lynch tallied her first career goal in the first half while Rylee Fennell added her fourth career strike just moments later. The Fords finish the season 6-10 (2-8 CC) while Swarthmore pulls to 7-10 (3-7 CC).
Swarthmore jetted out to an early lead as the Garnet converted on a penalty corner in the 12th minute. Marion Carr found corner inputter Ali Baratta down low in the circle, and Baratta was able to find the back of the cage for an early 1-0 lead. In the very next minute, the Garnet were awarded a penalty stroke, with Kathleen Carmichael converting the attempt to bring the lead to 2-0 in favor of the hosts.
Haverford had an immediate answer, rallying back to tie the score with goals on consecutive shots. Allyson Lynch weaved through the Swarthmore defense and fired a 19th minute goal home from the right side of the cage, grabbing her first career score in a critical moment for the Fords. On the very next offensive opportunity for Haverford, Paige Powell slotted a ball to the waiting stick of Fennell, and the junior found the equalizer, prompting a timeout from Swarthmore in the 21st minute of action.
The Haverford defense came up strong in the waning moments of the second half, with a pair of shots from Carmichael and Carr blocked following penalty corner attempts.
As the second half began, Casey Wakai inputted a corner and eventually found her way back to the ball for a shot on frame in the 37th minute. Swarthmore goalkeeper Zelda Bank made a save on the crafty attempt to deny the Fords. Hannah Roth made a save of her own on the next Swarthmore salvo in the 39th minute. Amanda Grebas cleared a ball off the goal line in the 48th minute, but the Garnet were able to collect a loose ball in the immediate aftermath, with Chelsea Semper giving her team a 3-2 lead with her first goal of the season.
From that point, Haverford began an intense chase for another equalizer, with seven corner opportunities in the final 25 minutes of play. Bank proved to be an important part of Swarthmore's resiliency, stopping three shots in the stretch. Ultimately, Bank was able to get a hold of Lynch's strong scoring chance in the 68th minute, and Swarthmore was able to withstand a late Haverford advantage caused by a green card, coming away with the victory.
Lynch and Lucy Tortolani each had two shots on frame to pace Haverford. Roth made a pair of saves while Bank stopped five shots.
Looking ahead to next season, the Fords will return the scorers of all but three goals from the 2018 campaign, and looking to be in good hands with Roth as goalkeeper as the first year made an impressive debut, holding opponents to a 1.50 goals against average and stopping 73 shots in her 15 starts in the cage.