HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's lacrosse team (8-3, 4-0 CC) remained undefeated in Centennial Conference play with a dominating home win against the visiting McDaniel Green Terror (4-7, 1-3 CC) by a score of 21-9. Haverford scored a season-high for goals in a single period with nine in the first period and used that momentum to see out a convincing victory at Swan Field.
Brooke Epstein led all scorers with a hattrick, scoring on each of her three shots in the contest. Sam Silverman added two goals after breaking the 100-point mark for her career last week while Abby Bonner registered two goals and an assist.
Many of the underclassmen got involved in this one and were instrumental in the performance. First-years Kylie McNamara and Kylie Kearon scored their first goals for Haverford.
Reilly Curran and Bella Gattuso also contributed as Curran recorded a goal and Gattuso put two in the back of the net to go along with her two assists. Bonner, Tiffany Mikulis (2 goals), and Silverman added the others.
McDaniels's Emily Sheppard opened the second period with a goal but the Green Terror still trailed 9-2. The play would improve but McDaniel had no answers on the defense for Haverford. The Fords narrowly outscored McDaniel in the period 6-4, relying on the pressure the attackers continued to put on the Green Terror defenders.
Julia Curran scored her only goal of the contest and kicked off a four-goal run for the Fords. Epstein scored on a beautiful pass from Jordan Denaver while Ellie Hughes and McNamara capped off the run. Eventually, the Fords found themselves with a comfortable 15-5 lead at halftime and in full control of the contest.
The slowing would slow down in the third period but Haverford was still very efficient in their approach. Denaver scored the first goal of the period before Lia Herzig and Reilly Curran added to the tally. Haverford won the period 3-1 and took a 12-goal advantage into the fourth and final period.
Haverford reached 20 goals for the first time this season thanks to goals from a variety of Fords in the fourth. Gattuso and Jacquelyn Jardini got on the scoresheet for the first time in the contest and were just one of the reasons the Fords were able to dominate, even late in the contest.
The performance was capped off by one of the best defensive efforts of the season. Eva Baumann led the team with three ground balls and rarely got beat on the defensive end of the field. Lauren Kinne and Lauren Anderson also made it difficult for the Green Terror to get any clean looks at the net, only allowing 16 shots on the net.
Bravacos started between the pipes and registered six saves for her sixth win of the season. Rachel Marlin stepped in goal for the final period and recorded a save.
Haverford will next return to action on Saturday, April 15 as the Fords host No. 9 Gettysburg on Swan Field for a busy day on campus and what will be the Play With Pride game. The contest is scheduled for noon.