HAVERFORD, Pa. – Consecutive goals from Megan Gallagher, Kayleigh Herrick-Reynolds and Alexa Pesce midway through the opening half put the Haverford College women's lacrosse team ahead to stay in Wednesday evening's 11-9 Centennial Conference victory over visiting Muhlenberg College.

The Fords (6-3, 2-1 CC) opened the scoring on a goal from Perrin Downing but Muhlenberg (4-4, 0-3) twice rallied from behind to gain the advantage on the scoreboard as the first half clock ticked past its midway point.

With the Mules owning a 4-3 edge, Gallagher, Herrick-Reynolds and Pesce scored within a span of 2 minutes and 9 seconds to vault Haverford into a lead that it wouldn't relinquish.

Muhlenberg added a late first half goal to pull within one at 6-5 heading into the intermission but the Fords pushed the lead back to three with goals from Herrick-Reynolds and Pesce within the first five minutes of second half play.

Pesce finished with a team-high four goals in the win, and added a pair of assists, while Angela Napoletano notched four goals for the Mules in a losing effort.

Haverford goalie Leah Hammerschlag repeatedly came up with big saves against the Mules who continually pushed the tempo with a fast-paced transition game. Muhlenberg ended up out shooting the Fords, 27-20, in the contest. Hammerschlag finished with 10 saves in the win while her counterpart at the other end of the field, Allison Vachon, collected four saves in the loss.

Haverford continues conference play with its next outing, Saturday, in Carlisle, Pa., where the Fords will take on the Red Devils from Dickinson College.