HAVERFORD, Pa. – Senior captain Taylor Cross has been named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week following a 2-0 start to Centennial Conference play for the Fords. Providing the leadership at defense, Cross did not leave the field for a single minute during Haverford's 2-1 double overtime win against Muhlenberg or the 1-0 win at Franklin & Marshall.
During those two Centennial Conference victories, the Fords conceded just 12 shots over the nearly 200 minutes of playing time. Only five of those shots were on target as the Haverford defense blocked three of those attempts against Muhlenberg and watched several other attempts travel high or wide of the goal. Haverford doubled up Muhlenberg with an 18-9 advantage in shots during the midweek game and completely controlled the tempo against Franklin & Marshall with a 17-3 edge in shots.
Haverford's defense has held its opposition under six shots during five of its seven games this season. Only once, during the opening match against Arcadia, has a team put more than three shots on goal against the Fords defense. The team's 0.80 goals against average ranks third in the Centennial Conference. The shutout against Franklin & Marshall was the team's third of the season, all of which have come in the past five matches.
An economics major from Simi Valley, California, Cross has started each game for the Fords this season and has a total of 23 starts during her 46 appearances for the Fords. Haverford has recorded 29 shutouts over the past four seasons with Cross seeing valuable minutes in 23 of those contests.
After a perfect opening week to Centennial Conference action, the Fords are one of two remaining unbeaten teams in conference play along with McDaniel and Johns Hopkins. Women's soccer will host Widener at 4 p.m. on Walton Field this Wednesday in non-conference action. Haverford welcomes Johns Hopkins to campus this Saturday for a 1 p.m. match in the showdown of unbeaten teams in the Centennial.