GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The Haverford College field hockey team (6-3, 1-1 CC) tallied three second-half goals to deny the host Bullets of Gettysburg (3-5, 0-3 CC) by a 4-1 final in Centennial Conference action Saturday afternoon on Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
Gettysburg opened the scoring on the first shot attempt of the contest, as Jillian Somers found Hailey Rhine in front of the cage for the score. The shot ended up as the only offensive attempt of the first stanza for either side.
From that point, it was all Haverford as the Fords were the more aggressive team out of the second half gates and remained poised throughout the final 45 minutes. Naomi York fired wide of the cage in the 17th minute, and Anna Bradley nearly connected in the 21st minute. Zoey Despines sent a shot on target to goalkeeper Emilia Saccento in the 22nd minute as the visitors appeared to be stomping on the doorstep. York was again denied by Saccento in the 26th minute, but Haverford tallied the opener in the 28th minute. Poppy Swallow sent a pass across the cage to the waiting stick of Erica Pardón, who added her fourth goal of the season to knot the contest at 1-1.
At the intermission, Haverford held a 5-2 advantage in shots and tallied the only corner of the first 30 minutes of play.
Just minutes into the second half, York broke through the Bullets' back line and went one-on-one with the Gettysburg goalkeeper. The sophomore registered a crafty, lofting shot that rocketed towards the near post, catching Saccento off guard as the ball slipped in the narrow gap between her pads and the post. York's third goal of the season gave the Fords their first lead of the afternoon.
Haverford added insurance in the 41st minute as Zoey Despines fed Swallow with a strong entry pass as the ball deflected around the circle following a penalty corner try. Swallow was credited with the first goal of her career after the deflection was placed deftly into the back of the cage.
Just moments later, Haverford added its fourth tally of the contest. Off a restart just past midfield, Holly Vincent dribbled the ball into the circle and found Pardón with just one defender to beat and the Gettysburg goalkeeper caught out of position. Now parallel with Saccento, the first year delivered an off-angle shot that trickled into the back of the cage towards the opposite post for her fifth goal of the season, tying Bradley for the team lead.
In total, the Fords held a commanding 15-6 edge in shots on the afternoon. Mary Smith made a total of five saves in her 60 minutes between the pipes. York had a game-high three shots on target while Sam Woolery fired two on frame for the Bullets.
Field Hockey has now won three consecutive contests against the Bullets after blanking Gettysburg by a 2-0 final last fall at Swan Field.
The Fords now return to Centennial Conference action on Wednesday, October 4 with another road trip, this time heading to Washington College for a 7 p.m. first pass under the lights in Chestertown, Maryland.