HAVERFORD, Pa. – A 3-1 Centennial Conference victory Sunday afternoon at Swan Field over visiting Swarthmore College assured the Haverford College field hockey team of a home game to open the league playoffs this week.
The Fords (10-7, 6-4 CC) clinched fourth place in the league standings with Sunday's win and as the No. 4-seed in the league tournament will host fifth-seed Washington College (10-7, 6-4) in a playoff game Wednesday, Nov. 2 at Haverford. Swarthmore (8-10, 5-5), which would have earned a playoff spot with a win, was eliminated from tournament consideration with the loss.
Sunday's win over Swarthmore began by looking like the day might turn into a high-scoring affair as each team scored on its second shot of the game to set the score at 1-1 after only four minutes of action.
Those would be the last goals, however, until the 60th minute of play when senior Juliana Morgan-Trostle tipped in a blast from fellow senior Roxanne Jaffe for the eventual game-winner. Jaffe took the feed from stopper Mary Hobbs on a penalty corner opportunity and aimed a shot toward the right post where Morgan-Trostle was able to get her stick on the rocket and deflect it past Swarthmore goalkeeper Gabriella Capone.
Bryn Bissey added an insurace goal four minutes later, coralling a pass across the goal mouth from Morgan-Trostle and beating Capone with a shot inside the left post.
Bissey's goal was the third unanswered from Haverford after the Garnet's Katie Teleky opened the scoring at the 2:51 mark of the first half with her seventh of the season. Hobbs pulled the Fords even at 4:00 with her 19th of the year, slotting home a shot off a pass from senior Margaret Selsor.
Haverford goalie Sydney Hyder earned the win making seven stops and getting help from defender Christie Quake who added a defensive save late in the first half. Capone took the loss for the Garnet after registering four saves but surrendering three goals.
Along with Jaffe, Morgan-Trostle and Selsor, two other seniors -- Molly Braun and Christine Gall -- were also honored in a brief pre-game ceremony. The five seniors will play their final game on Swan Field Wednesday against the Shorewomen. The Class of 2012 will graduate with at least 42 wins, the most of any graduating class in program history.
Sunday's victory over Swarthmore increases Haverford's lead over the Garnet in the annual Hood Trophy competition between the two schools to a count of 3-1.
Wednesday's first-round playoff opener against Washington will be a rematch of a nail-biter one week prior when the visiting Fords tied the score at 1-1 in the 53nd minute on a Selsor score, then picked up the game-winner in the 64th from Jaffe.