ENGLEWOOD, Fla. - On the final game of its spring break trip to Southwest Florida, the 20th-ranked Haverford College women's lacrosse team (5-2) was edged in a thriller against Skidmore (3-1). The two teams were knotted at the end of regulation before Amanda Orvis scored 1:05 into the sudden-victory overtime to hand the Thoroughbreds a stunning decision.
Allie Gibbons notched five goals in the matchup, while Julia Pascarella contributed four. Julia Manetta tallied five assists, moving to 99 total assists for her career. Anna Meyers and Maeve Gaffney each registered three caused turnovers while Meyers scooped three ground balls to pace the defensive effort. Amelia Slade had a game-best seven ground balls and added 16 saves in her time between the pipes.
Haverford took an early 2-1 lead after surrendering the opening goal, with Rina Rosnow connecting on a free-position before Manetta found Gibbons for the lead. Gibbons later added a pair of free-position strikes to put Haverford up by two goals at 4-2, and Gibbons again tallied off an assist from Olivia Dirienz for a 5-3 advantage. Skidmore responded to knot things at 6-6 with just 5:14 to go in the first half, but the Fords closed the stanza on a 3-0 run, with Hannah Lopez, Hailey Morris, and Pascarella all scoring in the final four minutes of the half.
Morris again found the back of the net to begin the second half, and a subsequent 3-0 run for the Fords found Haverford in the lead by six at 13-7 with 18:23 in regulation. Skidmore wasn't done, charging back with a 5-0 run of their own to claw back to within one goal at 13-12. Emily Hirsch tallied a natural hat-trick in the stretch, and suddenly Haverford found itself clinging to a one-score lead with 12:41 to go.
Some breathing room came in the form of back-to-back connections from Pascarella and Manetta, with Manetta feeding Pascarella for a strike ahead of Pascarella finding her teammate for the score, as Haverford went ahead 15-12 with 6:15 to play.
Skidmore closed regulation on a 3-0 run, tying the score with just 1:47 to play in the second. Skidmore had one final possession in regulation go awry as Gaffney came up big with a caused turnover, scooping the ground ball in the closing seconds of action. In the overtime period, Cas Szwajkowski collected the pivotal draw control, handing the Thoroughbreds a hard-fought opening possession with the game on the line. Orvis then tallied an unassisted goal just 1:05 into the stanza, allowing Skidmore to come away with the come-from-behind victory.
Czwajkowski had four goals to lead the Skidmore offense, while Orvis and Hirsch each added three. Swajkowski nabbed nine draw controls, while Hirsch and goalkeeper Caroline Kenlon scooped four ground balls each. Kenlon added four saves.
Haverford will return to action at home on Saturday, March 23 against McDaniel in the Centennial Conference opener on Swan Field. Opening draw is slated for noon.