Conference Tournament Information
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's lacrosse team qualified for the Centennial Conference playoffs for the first time in two seasons and will travel to take on the Muhlenberg College Mules in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 conference playoff matchup on Wednesday beginning at 5 p.m.
The Fords picked up a 17-10 victory over Hood Trophy rival, Swarthmore, on Saturday and with a loss by McDaniel College, nabbed a playoff berth. Gettysburg is the No. 1 seed and will host the conference tournament while Franklin and Marshall is No. 2 and Washington College is No. 3.
Haverford dropped its only matchup vs. Muhlenberg, 19-10, on April 1 despite five goals from senior Diana Perry and two more from freshman Molly Lausten. Since the two teams became conference foes, the Fords lead the all-time series, 13-9 while the Mules have picked up the last two decisions. This week's game is the first time that Haverford and Muhlenberg have met in the conference playoffs.
Head coach Lauren Wray's squad began the season with three straight wins, its longest such streak since the 2013 campaign saw the women's lacrosse team start 5-0. The Fords traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo. for spring break and split their two contests out there. The team's first conference victory came at the hands of No. 4 Gettysburg in a thrilling 11-10 double overtime win. Haverford trailed 6-1, 8-2, and 10-6 in the contest before scoring the final five goals. Perry's seven goals in the game tied a career high while the upset victory was the team's first over a ranked opponent since the 2013 season.
After a pair of conference losses, the Fords held off Dickinson, 11-10 and then shut out Bryn Mawr (18-0) earlier this month. Haverford's shutout over the Owls was it's first since defeating Immaculata, 17-0 on March 25, 2004. Haverford had another pair of tough conference losses before rebounding with victories over Ursinus and Swarthmore to end the season.
Perry's 47 goals this year led the team and gave the senior three straight 40-plus goal seasons. The two-time All-Centennial Conference first team member ranks tied for fifth in the conference in goals. Her all-around game was on full display in 2015 as she also led the team in draw controls (36), caused turnovers (24) and was tied for second in ground balls (30).
Lausten's 38 tallies came in 16 of Haverford's 17 contests this year and gave the Fords two 30-plus goal scorers for the first time in two years. The Fords had five more players score at least 10 goals, led by sophomore Sarina Manetta's 19. Juniors Elyse Adler (13 goals, 12 assists) and Christina Gould (11 goals, 11 assists) have also made major contributions as they each have scored at least 10 goals and dished out at least 10 assists. Junior Megan Chenworth made all 17 starts for the Fords in net, finishing with 104 saves and a 9.73 goals-against-average this year.
The Mules (9-6, 5-4 CC) are led by Stephanie Umbach. She leads the conference in points (104), goals (81), and draw controls (105), while ranking in the top ten in assists (23) and free-position tallies (13). Casey Armstrong places fourth in the Centennial Conference in points (67), fifth in assists (27) and 10th in goals (40).
This year marks the fourth time in program history that the women's lacrosse team has qualified for the Centennial Conference playoffs and second time under Wray's tenure. The fourth-year head coach discussed the team's improvement over the year by saying, "We've really battled and have come together as a team over the final few weeks. Our team is very excited to be playing in the playoffs."
The winner of this game travels to Gettysburg to take on the No. 1 seeded Bullets on Saturday at noon. No. 2 F&M will take on No. 3 Washington College in the other semifinal and the conference final will take place on Sunday at 3 p.m. The winner of the Centennial Conference playoffs will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.