ANVILLE, Pa. – Playing in a battle of unbeatens, the No. 22 Haverford College women's soccer team outlasted Lebanon Valley by a 2-1 score in overtime on Wednesday evening. Jo Haller tallied the game-winning goal after a takeaway and finish in the attacking zone to send the Fords home victorious with just 1:14 left in the first overtime session.
For the second straight game, the Fords (5-0-1) needed to answer the opposition's goal to force the extra time. The Dutchmen (6-1) opened the scoring in the seventh minute of play when Sammy Bost found space to record her fifth goal of the season off an assist from Meghan Ross. Bost proved to be the primary option for the LVC offense as she finished with six of the team's 11 shots for the match.
Nevertheless, the Fords rallied back just under 13 minutes later. Just like this past weekend, it was Ali Lopez that provided the game-tying goal for Haverford. Lopez now has three goals on the season, all of which have come in the Fords' last four matches. Also for the second straight contest, Lopez's goal came off a pass from Maryanna Solecki. Solecki's helper tied her for the team lead with three assists on the season.
The two sides finished the match with an identical 11 shots from their respective offenses. Each goalie was called on to record a save in the opening half and keep the game level at 1-1. Each side took five shots over the first 45 minutes.
For the Fords, Kathy Prescott was called upon to make three saves for the contest. Two of those saves came during the second half with the game in the balance as she denied LVC's Rachel Cummings in the 50th and 81st minutes of play. Haverford got its only shot on goal of the second half in the 63rd minute when Lopez was denied the go-ahead goal by the Dutchmen's Taylor Reinhold.
Lebanon Valley held a 5-3 edge in shots during the second half, but that momentum swung in favor of the Fords during the extra session. Just over a minute into the overtime, Raina Fitzpatrick created some space, but saw her shot saved. Transitioning back to defense, LVC's Bost sent a shot high just one minute later before Katie Safter sent a shot wide as the teams went back and forth.
Looking to lead her team to victory, Haller created her own offense when she dispossessed the Lebanon Valley defense and beat the goalie for the sudden victory goal. Haller's unassisted tally was her team-leading fourth goal of the season. The Fords' captain has scored the game-winning goal in three of the four victories.
Women's soccer will return home this Saturday for another non-conference battle against Stevenson. That match is scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. on Walton Field and will be followed by the men's game against McDaniel at 3:30 p.m.