Haverford Championship Central
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's soccer team will make its return to postseason play this Wednesday at 3 p.m. against Gettysburg on Walton Field. The Fords (10-4-3, 4-3-2 CC) are seeded fourth heading into the Centennial Conference Tournament and will take on the fifth-seeded Bullets (8-7-1, 4-4-1 CC) in the conference's first round game.
These teams also met on Walton Field during the regular season with Haverford prevailing in a 1-0 victory. Skyler Ellenburg scored the game-winning goal in that contest during the ninth minute of play while Kathy Prescott made three saves to record a shutout. The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to the semifinals where it will meet host McDaniel on Saturday. Second-seeded Johns Hopkins and third-seeded Swarthmore will contest the other semifinal.
Haverford is making its 10th appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament. The Fords have previously met Gettysburg three times in Centennial Conference playoff action with Haverford advancing in semifinal meetings during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The 2013 result came after Haverford claimed a 5-3 edge in penalty kicks. The Bullets won a first round game on Walton Field in 2007 when these teams met as the respective fourth and fifth seeds.
The Fords have used a variety of different offensive weapons this season as 14 players have scored a goal and 17 players have recorded a point. Freshman Leanne Ludwick leads the team with nine points as she has three goals and three assists on the season. Anna Dekle and Abby Letts have also scored three times for Haverford. Kristen Fiore is currently leading Haverford with four assists while Katie Safter and Sydney West join Ludwick as the Fords' trio with three assists.
Defense has been a strength of Haverford all season long. Haverford has recorded 10 shutouts, just one shy of the program record set during the 1995 season. Prescott has recorded a solo shutout in eight of those contests. The Fords recorded a 0.51 GAA during the regular season, a program record, with a 0.76 GAA in conference matches.
The winner of Wednesday's first round game will advance to the aforementioned game at McDaniel on Saturday morning. That semifinal contest is set to take place at 11 a.m. in Westminster, Md. The Fords have made it to at least the semifinal round in seven of their previous nine conference tournament appearances. Haverford has made the Centennial Conference Championship match during its two most recent postseason appearances in 2012 and 2013 with both seasons resulting in trips to the NCAA Tournament.