HAVERFORD, Pa. – Rain-soaked playing conditions did not stop the Haverford College women's soccer team from staying unbeaten as the Fords (3-0-1) came away with a 3-0 victory on Walton Field against DeSales (1-4-1) Saturday afternoon. The Fords took a 1-0 lead into halftime and added two more second half tallies for their fourth straight shutout victory of the season.
Despite the slick playing surface the two teams were faced with, Haverford was able to control the pace of the game as the Fords had a 20-5 advantage in shots for the game. Connie Friedman got the Haverford offense started with the opening and eventual game-winning goal in the 25th minute of play. Her goal came after the ball skipped around in the box off a cross before she connected with her left foot and finished to the lower left side of the net. Her goal was her second of the season as she also scored the game-winning goal against Arcadia in the season opener.
Despite an 11-2 advantage in total shots after 45 minutes of play, women's soccer still had just the 1-0 lead to show for its efforts thanks in large part to five shots that were blocked down in the box by the Bulldogs' defense.
However, it would not be long before the Fords found their second goal of the game as sophomore Ali Lopez scored the first goal of her college career just 41 seconds into the second half. With the ball bouncing around inside the 18 on the wet turf, Lopez was able to dispossess the DeSales' defense of the potential clear attempt as she also finished to the lower left hand side of the net, giving Haverford a 2-0 lead.
The Fords also saw another player score her first goal in college as freshman Sofia Licata scored in the 82nd minute of play. Licata received a beautiful cross from Kendall Logan after Logan carried the ball down the far side of the field before her crossing attempt. Logan's assist was the first point of her collegiate career as well.
That 3-0 would hold up as Robin Chernow recorded her fourth straight shutout to start the season. She now has 31.3 shutouts and 39 career victories at Haverford – both of which are program records. Chernow has now gone 394:52 since her last goal allowed during the 2013 season. She was called on to make two saves on the afternoon in the slick conditions. Haverford's closest call to surrendering a goal for the first time this season came in the 65th minute when the Bulldogs earned a corner. The ball was served in to DeSales' Brady Walsh. She found her shot but the Haverford defender on the far post was able to save that shot from any damage.
Offensively, 11 different players recorded a shot for the Fords. Jo Haller led all individuals with five shots on the afternoon. Larisa Antonisse took three shots, while Raina Fitzpatrick, Friedman and Lopez each recorded a pair of shots.
After going unbeaten in four straight games to start the season, including a perfect 3-0 record on Walton Field, Haverford will head out on the road next Saturday to battle Dickinson in the Centennial Conference opener for both squads. That game will get underway at 3 p.m.