HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's lacrosse team (2-0) toppled No. 3 TCNJ (1-1) by a final of 12-10 on Tuesday evening at Swan Field. With the victory, Haverford picked up its highest ranked win in program history and first win over a ranked opponent since an 11-10 double overtime victory over No. 4 Gettysburg in the 2015 conference opener. The win was Haverford's fourth overall against a ranked opponent since the IWLCA Division III Poll was started in 2003.
Rina Rosnow had four goals to pace Haverford, while Julia Pascarella, Maeve Gaffney, and reigning Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week Allie Gibbons each had two. Gibbons had another stellar performance also adding four ground balls, three caused turnovers, and an assist in the contest. Amelia Slade came up huge between the pipes for the Fords, stopping 11 shots, as Haverford's defense held stout around her. The Fords pulled out the victory despite TCNJ holding a 30-21 advantage in shots.
The Fords got on the scoreboard first, as Pascarella converted a free-position attempt less than two minutes into the contest. Pascarella shot into an empty net, as the foul was called on the TCNJ goalkeeper. From that point, TCNJ began to prove why it was ranked so highly with an offensive barrage to take a 4-1 lead with 23:53 to play. Undaunted, the Fords were able to regroup and go back on the offensive themselves.
Roma Hladky took a nice feed from Julia Manetta and tallied her first career goal, but Alex Fitzpatrick answered on the other end for the Lions, as the scoreboard read 5-2 in favor of TCNJ with 20:24 to play in the first half. Hailey Morris and Maeve Gaffney then both scored for Haverford, with Gaffney's free-position goal cutting the TCNJ lead to just one at 5-4 with 16:29 to play. Fitzpatrick had an answer on the other end, besting Slade on a free-position, but Haverford rattled off an electrifying 4-0 run from that point, with Rosnow adding two highlight reel goals in the stretch. Haverford found itself up by two at 8-6 with 10:01 to go. Kathleen Jaeger scored on a free-position to tighten things up a bit, but Rosnow again found the back of the net in the closing minutes, giving Haverford a 9-7 lead heading into the half.
The Fords showed no signs of letting off of the gas as Gibbons then scored two goals in the opening minutes of the half to give Haverford an 11-7 lead with 27:17 to play. As was a theme all afternoon long, Fitzpatrick went back to work, giving her team a fighting chance with two goals as TCNJ suddenly trailed by just two at 11-9 with 15:55 remaining in regulation.
Haverford's defense was an absolute force in the final minutes of the contest, swarming the TCNJ attack, forcing bad shots, and keeping the Lions off kilter in their attacking zone. In total, Haverford forced a pair of shot clock violations and hurried the TCNJ offense on many occasions. With Fitzpatrick called for a yellow card with just over five minutes to play, Haverford took advantage of the man-up opportunity, as Rosnow finished a momentous goal off a feed from Eliza Brosgol, handing Haverford a three-goal cushion heading into the final moments of the contest.
Allie Gorman scored with 47 seconds remaining to cut the lead down to two, but the ensuing draw went to Gaffney. TCNJ caused a turnover out of bounds, but with the clock winding down, Haverford was able to turn away the frenetic last-ditch attack from the Lions, as TCNJ was unable to get a shot off before the clock reached triple zero.
Junior Anna Meyers helped anchor the defensive effort, with three caused turnovers, while first year Caroline Alexis collected three ground balls. Slade added four ground balls and a caused turnover to her impressive performance in goal. Sarah Svetec collected a team-best four draw controls for Haverford.
Haverford returns to action on Saturday, as the Fords head to Scranton. The opening draw is slated for 3 p.m. Haverford is 6-1 all-time against Scranton, including a 16-14 home win a season ago.