ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Haverford College women's lacrosse team (8-2, 2-1 CC) used a 9-5 advantage in the second half to turn around a halftime deficit and beat host Muhlenberg (5-4, 1-2 CC) on Wednesday afternoon at Scotty Wood Stadium. Molly Lausten had five goals while Allie Gibbons added four on just six total shots. Gibbons also added a career-high five ground balls and caused four turnovers. Rachel Romens made five saves to pick up her seventh victory of the season.
Haverford fell behind early, as Muhlenberg took a 4-1 lead in under seven minutes. Gibbons and Kate Sollee scored to pull the Fords to within one at 4-3, but Muhlenberg rattled off another 2-0 spurt to take a 6-3 lead with 13:24 remaining in the first period.
Amanda Tullo scored a pair of goals to take an 8-4 lead with 8:51 to play in the half, but the Fords unleashed a 4-0 run, tying the score with 2:23 left. Gibbons scored twice in the sequence, off assists from Sollee and Eliza Brosgol, while Lausten converted a free position before assisting on Sarah Svetec's goal that equalized the game at 8-8.
Erin Duca scored off the free position to send Muhlenberg to a slim 9-8 advantage at halftime.
The Fords came out firing offensively, with a 3-0 run out of the gates to take an 11-9 advantage with 26:40 to go in regulation. Lausten and Sollee teamed up for a goal as did Svetec and Gibbons. Rina Rosnow got on the tally sheet with a free position conversion. The Mules had a response, taking a 12-11 lead with a 3-0 run of their own. Eliza Clark had the go-ahead goal with 23:25 remaining.
From that point, the Fords took control of the contest, with methodical possessions. Hailey Morris tied the score with 22:30 to go and Brosgol also scored twice in the run as the Fords took a 16-12 lead with 14:15 to play. Gibbons scored one final goal for the Fords with 1:27 to play, causing a turnover with a stick check to Gabriella Crivelli, scooping the ground ball, and converting on the man-up opportunity.
Olivia DiRienz had four draw controls to lead the Fords with two ground balls and a caused turnover. Anna Meyers again excelled with three ground balls, three draw controls, and two caused turnovers. Alyssa Sherman and Belle McMahon also each caused two turnovers. The Fords tied a season-best with six free-position goals. Paige Walton played the final 22:04 in goal, making two saves on four shots.
The Fords will now return home for another conference clash against Dickinson. Opening draw against the Red Devils is slated for noon on Saturday, April 7 at Swan Field.