CLAREMONT, Calif. - In a matchup between two ranked teams in Southern California, the No. 25 Haverford College women's lacrosse team (2-2) was upended by No. 20 Pomona-Pitzer (5-0), falling by an 18-11 final score at the South Athletics Complex in Claremont.
Tiffany Mikulis added a game-high five goals, adding five ground balls and four draw controls in a standout effort. Katharine Ference added seven draw controls, two goals, three assists, and two caused turnovers while Lia Herzig notched two draw controls, two ground balls, a goal and an assist while causing two turnovers. Annie Bravacos made her season debut between the pipes, logging five saves.
The homestanding Sagehens wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, scoring just 18 seconds into the contest after winning the opening draw, with Hannah Gough adding an unassisted tally. Strikes from Sydney Landauer and Taylor Glanville gave Pomona-Pitzer an early three-goal cushion before a free-position tally from Nancy Tucker got the Fords on the board with 7:28 remaining in the opening quarter.
Maggie Sweeney made it a 4-1 Sagehens lead with 39 seconds left and Taylor Glanville tallied off the draw with just five seconds remaining in the frame. Turnovers plagued the Fords in the opening 15 minutes of action as Haverford committed five giveaways despite draws being even at 3-3. Haverford opened the second period with a quick strike, as Katharine Ference intercepted a clearing pass following a Haverford turnover in the attacking third and immediately fired on the cage to trim the lead back down to just three goals at 13:33 remaining in the second.
A pair of free-position strikes from the hosts extended the lead back to five at 7-2 with 9:50 remaining, but Haverford pulled one back with 6:44 left in the half, taking advantage of a Sagehens turnover as Ference found Tiffany Mikulis in front of cage and Mikulis notched her first of the contest.
Mikulis scored again just minutes later, this time burying a rebound off Ference's missed free-position opportunity, as suddenly the hosts were up by just three in the waning moments of the first half. Caroline Washington scored with just under two minutes remaining in the period as the Sagehens headed into the intermission with a four-goal lead. Most of the major stat categories were even at intermission, with the Sagehens taking the advantage with some high-percentage shooting and a strong showing on the draws.
Pomona-Pitzer added the first goal of the second half, with Fiona Lewis adding an unassisted tally under a minute into the third period, restoring the five-goal cushion for the Saghens yet again. A free-position goal by River Buechner briefly put the hosts up by six, but Ference fed Mikulis with an entry pass towards the far post and Mikulis snuck one into the back of the cage off an angle to complete a hat-trick with 9:33 showing on the third quarter clock.
Unfortunately for the Fords, Pomona-Pitzer then rattled off a 4-0 run, taking a commanding 14-5 lead with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter. Ference, Mikulis, and Lia Herzig each added goals down the stretch for Haverford, as the Fords attempted to claw back into the contest.
Mikulis further trimmed the lead to just eight at 17-9, adding her fifth goal of the game with under eight minutes to play, and Sam Silverman tallied a free-position with 7:06 to go. Silverman again scored off a Herzig assist with 3:02 left in the contest, but it was too late to overcome the Sagehens as Pomona defended home turf with the win.
Fiona Lewis had four goals while Landauer and Shoshi Henderson each added two goals and three assists for the Sagehens. Carly Sullivan was a menace in the backfield with four caused turnovers.
Haverford will now return to action on Friday, taking on Occidental at 5 p.m. local time (8 p.m. ET) to wrap up the Spring Break stint in Los Angeles.