BALTIMORE, Md. - Larisa Antonisse scored the game's only goal to lead the Haverford College women's soccer team past Gettysburg College, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon at Homewood Field. The semifinal-round victory sends the Fords into Sunday's Centennial Conference championship game against tournament host and 24th-ranked Johns Hopkins University.
The third-seeded Fords (14-3-2) will take on the Blue Jays (15-3-1), who defeated No. 5-seed Swarthmore College in the day's first semifinal by a score of 3-1, at 1 p.m. on the Homewood turf.
Saturday's nail-biter against the No. 2-seed Bullets (12-6) turned in the 58th minute on Antonisse's soft, left-footed touch that slowly rolled the ball over the goal line after Gettysburg goalie Eliza Gray dove to defend the Haverford forward's intended right-footed shot from within the six-yard box. Though a defender was making contact with Antonisse, she was able to flick a left foot at a ball that sat at her feet when her original shot failed to materialize.
Falling backward, Antonisse got just enough oomph on the ball that it rolled, panel by panel, over the goal line behind Gray. Phoebe Miller supplied the assist for Antonisse's game-winner.
The Fords managed to get off seven shots against one of the league's best defenses, which had surrendered just nine goals all year, but stinginess in their own end allowed Antonisse's goal to stand alone in the game.
The shutout by the Haverford defense and goalie Robin Chernow was the third straight for the Fords, and sixth in the past eight games. Saturday they limited Gettysburg to five shots on goal with Chernow coming up with the save each time.
Haverford will look to equal their defensive effort against the nationally-ranked Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon, as well as add goals to Saturday's total after entering the semifinal against the Bullets with 21 goals over the regular season's final seven games.
Sunday's trip into the championship round will be Haverford's first since the league began its postseason playoff format (in 2001) though the Fords did win the conference title in 1995, prior to the postseason tournament era. They will be trying to hold off a Hopkins squad which is going for its eighth straight Centennial tournament crown.