HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's lacrosse team (6-6, 1-4 CC) was outpaced by visiting No. 2 Gettysburg (11-1, 4-1 CC) on Saturday afternoon at Swan Field, falling by a final score of 20-10 as the two-time defending national champions took just a two-goal lead into the halftime intermission at 5-3, but pulled away thanks in part to a 7-0 run that spanned the break.
Senior Allie Gibbons had five goals to lead the way for the Fords offensively, while junior Julia Manetta tallied four assists. Eight different Fords caused a turnover in the contest, while sophomore Amelia Slade made 11 saves in goal, scooping a team-best four ground balls.
The Fords stormed out of the gates with the first goal of the contest just over three minutes into the game as Manetta found Gibbons for the opening score, and a 1-0 Haverford lead. Liza Barr tallied for the Bullets, but rapid-fire goals from Olivia DiRienz and Julia Pascarella gave the Fords all the momentum on their side early, with a 3-1 lead more than halfway through the first period.
Gettysburg called for timeout facing the two-goal deficit, and Barr quickly delivered a free-position for the visitors to trim the lead down to just one. Ultimately, a possession-minded Gettysburg was methodical in scoring the final four goals of the first frame, taking a 5-3 lead into the break. Bri Stokes scored once in that stretch, and added two early goals in the second half, tallying two in the span of just 16 seconds.
Gibbons broke the 7-0 stretch with a goal that came at 25:08, and junior Maeve Gaffney scored on a man-advantage free-position, trimming the visitors lead to just three at 8-5.
Unfortunately for the Fords, they would get no closer as Gettysburg rattled off another 4-0 run from that point. Gibbons again put Haverford back in the goal column with 17:56 to play, but a subsequent 3-0 run gave the Bullets a 15-6 lead. Junior Hailey Morris scored with 10:48 to go, and ultimately converted with 7:50 to play, but the cushion for the visitors was too large to overcome in the waning moments of the contest. Morris finished a well-rounded day with a pair of scores, two assists, and two ground balls.
The Fords controlled the ground ball battle by a 16-14 edge, with Morris and Sarah Svetec each corralling a pair to key the effort in the trenches. DiRienz paced the Fords with six draw controls on the afternoon.
Gibbons extended her Centennial Conference lead in goals scored, as the Baltimore product has 51 through just 12 games of her senior campaign. Manetta continues to hover the top of the nation in assists, and leads the Centennial with 47 helpers. Slade now has 132 saves on the season, also the best in the conference.
Stokes was the leading goal scorer for Gettysburg, notching seven tallies on 10 shots, while Barr added six scores. Bailey Pilder made 11 saves in her 60 minutes between the pipes, adding four ground balls. Five different Bullets had multiple caused turnovers while Kerry McKeever controlled eight draws.
Haverford faces a quick turnaround, as a midweek contest at Washington College is up next. Haverford will match up with the No. 23 ranked Shorewomen on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before heading to Ursinus for a Saturday matinee on April 20.