Women's Lacrosse Falls to Christopher Newport in Offensive Shootout, 17-14

Sarina Manetta
Sarina Manetta

HAVERFORD, Pa. – In a game that saw a lengthy delay due to severe weather in the Delaware Valley, the Haverford College women's lacrosse team was edged by the visiting Christopher Newport Captains by a final score of 17-14 in an offensive shootout between the two squads.

Senior Sarina Manetta posted career-bests with seven points, six goals and seven draw controls on the afternoon. Allie Gibbons added four goals for Haverford on four shots. Haverford falls to 0-2 on the young season while Christopher Newport picked up its first win to improve to 1-2 on the campaign, earning a split on its roadtrip through the Middle Atlantic.

Maura Grant opened the scoring for the Fords before Sarah Culver completed a natural hat trick in just over two minutes, finding the back of the net three times to put Christopher Newport ahead 3-1 with an offensive outburst.

Manetta responded to cut the lead to one at 3-2 and Lausten later sliced it to 5-4 with her second of the contest. After the lengthy delay due to a passing thunderstorm, Manetta picked up her third with 11:52 to play, again cutting the lead to just one at 6-5 in favor of Christopher Newport.

Grant picked up her second goal of the contest to tie the score at 7-7 with 5:39 remaining in the first half. A 3-0 scoring run for Christopher Newport gave some breathing room to the visitors until Gibbons converted early in the second half to cut the Captains lead back to just two at 10-8.

Meaghan Galvin converted a pair of free position shots for goals and the visitors extended the lead to 13-8 with 23:57 left in regulation.

Manetta tallied with 22:26 left and Maeve Gaffney scored her first collegiate goal just over a minute later.

With 17:30 left in the contest, Manetta struck again for a two score contest. Culver scored again for Christopher Newport, but Manetta had an answer with her fifth of the day, restoring a two-goal deficit at 14-12.

The visitors pushed the lead back to 17-13 with 4:10 left in the game, but Manetta picked up her sixth of the contest off an assist from Lausten to cut the final score to the 17-14 mark in the waning seconds.

Manetta (6), Gibbons (4) and Grant (2) all scored multiple goals for Haverford. Manetta tallied seven draw controls while freshman Olivia DiRienz was responsible for five. Anna Meyers had a team-high three ground balls while Claire Cote and Madison Jones were a defensive force with a game-best three caused turnovers each.

Sarah Culver represented a large chunk of the offense for Christopher Newport, with seven goals on the night. Erin Callahan (3), Catie Chess (3) and Meagan Galvin (2) also tallied in double-digits. Galvin won seven draw controls, scooped two ground balls and caused two turnovers in an all-around effort.

Haverford will next return to action with a Saturday home contest against Randolph Macon scheduled for 1:00 p.m at Swan Field. The team then departs on its annual spring break jaunt, taking on Kenyon (March 6) and Roanoke (March 8) in Port Charlotte, Fla.