HAVERFORD, Pa. - It was a homecoming of sorts on Wednesday as Haverford (5-5-1, 1-3 CC) hosted Muhlenberg (2-7-2, 0-5 CC). Muhlenberg's head coach Kathy Prescott '17 made her first trip back to Walton Field as a head coach, this time on the sidelines instead of between the posts.
The former Centennial Conference second-team selection was a goalkeeper for the Fords, where she still holds the Haverford single-season record for goals-against average with a remarkable 0.70 goals allowed per contest.
The match was part of Haverford Athletics' Pride Week, which continues with events through October 7, as Haverford's Play with Pride Club hosted a boba giveaway, and Bryan Ruby sang the national anthem prior to kickoff.
The first-half began with an early onslaught of shots by the Fords in the first 15 minutes, which included a shot that clanged off the post by Phoebe Garfield.
The 25th minute saw the first goal of the contest, as the Scarlet and Black found the back of the net for the first time. Junior Keira Prince fed in a teaser of a ball that found the feet of Garfield, who slashed to her left, then slashed to her right, and buried one into the back of the net to give the Fords a 1-0 lead.
Haverford built upon their lead just ten minutes later, as Grace Haskell tallied her fourth goal of the season. The play all started with Angie Geralis who served in a wicked cross to Haskell in front of the net. Haskell then deflected the ball past a Muhlenberg defender, found the ball at her feet once again, and finessed a shot home to give the Fords a 2-0 lead.
Just two minutes before halftime, the Mules got one back thanks to a goal from Abby Azzinnari. Azzinnari was able to outrun a Haverford defender and take a shot on frame. The shot was blocked, but then Azzinnari pounced on the rebound and launched a curler past Theresa Haupt to pull one back for the Mules.
At halftime, Haverford led Muhlenberg in shots by a margin 14-5.
The Scarlet and Black got off to a hot start in the second half, finding the back of the net just 21 seconds into the period. After Haverford put a menacing ball into the box, Muhlenberg's Jocelyn Mertz tried to clear it away. Mertz got the wrong end of the ball in her clearance attempt, and deflected the ball into the net to give the Fords a 3-1 lead.
However, the Mules would quickly answer back just a few minutes later, when Paige Addis scored her first goal of the season in the 50th minute. Muhlenberg midfielder Casie Burke took advantage of a counter attack and played a lofting ball to a wide open Addis in the center of the pitch. Addis went one-on-one with Haupt and was able to slot a shot past the Fords' keeper, to give the Mules their second goal of the contest.
The 56th minute saw Haverford get on the scoreboard once again, as Garfield scored her second goal of the match. Garfield was able to get onto a fantastic pass from Liv McMillan, and simply put the ball past Mules' keeper Caitlyn Philips to give Haverford the 4-2 lead.
McMillan got on the scoring sheet herself in the 84th minute to give the Fords a 5-2 lead. Off a set piece opportunity, Haskell floated in a beauty of a ball to the back post, where McMillan vollied in a strike upper 90 to give the Scarlet and Black a big three goal lead.
One more save from Haupt in the final minutes helped preserve a 5-2 win for the Fords.
Haverford outshot Muhlenberg 22-10, and had four corner kicks to just one for the Mules. A feisty affair saw the teams total 22 fouls, with Muhlenberg being charged with 13 of them.
After the big conference win, the Fords will return to action Saturday October 7, as they head to Chestertown, Md. to take on Washington College in another key conference showdown. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.