HAVERFORD, Pa. – Quite simply, time ran out.
The Haverford College women's lacrosse team mounted an improbable comeback in the final moments of Wednesday evening's first-round Centennial Conference tournament game against visiting Washington College, finally watching the clock strike zero while the Fords were still a goal shy in the exciting 10-9 loss.
Trailing 8-3 with 20 minutes remaining in the game, Haverford (10-7) scored six of the next eight goals including a pair of markers in the final 12 seconds which drew the team to within one of the Shorewomen (11-5) with four ticks left on the scoreboard clock.
Washington leaped out to a 3-1 lead by the halfway point of the opening half, but the Fords rallied to tie the score heading into the intermission on goals from Josie Ferri and Liz Mayell.
The Shorewomen stormed out of the break, though, and rung up five unanswered goals to build what must have seemed like a very safe 8-3 advantage.
Haverford's Kenny Likes ended the run at the 14-minute mark with her first of the game but Washington answered to push the lead back to five.
Two more Fords goals and one more Washington tally left the score at 10-6 with just over six minutes left in the contest. Ferri scored seconds after the clock ticked past the four-minute mark but the deficit was still at three with time, and hope, running out.
Haverford goalkeeper Leah Hammerschlag, now playing out of the net on defense, intercepted a Rachel Bartee pass with 24 seconds left and carried the ball up-field herself, getting deep into the attacking zone where she found Alexis Bond open to the right of the Washington goal.
Bond saw a cutting Perrin Downing and tossed a quick pass which Downing received and flipped past Shorewomen goalie Stephanie Seibert to bring the Fords within two.
Only 12 seconds remained in the game but the Fords weren't done yet.
Likes earned the draw control and raced into the zone where she rifled a shot past Seibert for the Fords' ninth goal -- with four seconds still on the clock.
The miracle rally finally ended, however, when Washington gained possession of the final draw control and ran out the last few seconds.
Likes was the high-scorer for the Fords with three goals while Ferri and Downing each added two. Washington's Bartee and Carly Eisenbrandt led the Shorewomen's attack with three goals apiece.
Hammerschlag finished the game with 10 saves and was one pass away from her first assist. Seibert earned the win in the cage for the visitors after making 10 saves.
The loss ended the season prematurely for the Fords, but the team produced another winning season and earned its second consecutive trip into the league playoffs.