CHESTERTOWN, Md. – In the first of a series of must-win games for the Haverford College field hockey team, the Fords jumped out front early then cruised to a 5-1 win over host Washington (Md.) College in Centennial Conference action Wednesday afternoon.

Haverford (6-8, 4-3 CC) converted three penalty corner opportunities to break out to a 3-0 halftime lead. Margaret Selsor put in a rebound of her own shot in the game's fifth minute to open the scoring, then Mary Hobbs added the second score off a rebound from Roxanne Jaffe's shot. Alex Waleko added the third goal a little more than two minutes after Hobbs'.

Bridget Gibbons and Selsor sandwiched a pair of second half Haverford goals around the lone tally by Washington (6-8, 3-4 CC) for the game's final score.

The Fords used a pressurized offensive attack -- they outshot the Shorewomen by a 24-7 margin -- to control the game and limit Washington to only four shots on goal.

Haverford goalie Maggie Cronin came up with two saves while teammate Ariel Herm registered a defensive save for her Centennial-leading sixth of the season.

Elena Nicholoff had a busy day in goal for Washington registering 16 saves in the loss.

Both teams entered the Wednesday contest tied in the league standings and just outside the fifth, and final, spot for the conference postseason tournament.

The Fords have three games remaining, all against Centennial teams, on their schedule. Both Dickinson, their next opponent this Saturday afternoon, and Swarthmore sit behind Haverford in the standings while the final game on the regular season slate is against a team, McDaniel, that it tied for third in the Centennial.