HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's soccer team ran its winning streak to four straight matches with a 3-1 victory over Centennial Conference foe Franklin & Marshall on Saturday. The Fords (4-2, 2-0 CC) went up 2-0 midway through the second half as the Diplomats did not score until there were less than five minutes remaining in regulation. Haverford added an insurance goal with just 14 seconds showing on the game clock for the 3-1 final.
Six different players finished with offensive points for the Fords as the goals were scored by Grace Mathis, Sydney West, and Gabrielle Cipriano. Kelly Brown, Hannah Krapes, and Mia Reyes assisted on those respective goals.
Haverford controlled the tempo in both halves, racking up a 9-4 advantage in shots during the opening half with an additional 7-1 edge in corner kick chances. Mathis got the Fords rolling as she finished a pass from Brown during the 22nd minute of game action on a nice cross that put Mathis in a 1v1 situation with the goalie. Mathis now has a team-leading three goals and nine points this season, all of which have come during the current recent winning streak. Brown's helper was the second of both her career and season.
The Fords nearly made it 2-0 in the opening half, but Kendra Griesman saw her header tracking towards goal ricochet off the crossbar to deny an earlier chance which came during the 15th minute of match action. Nevertheless, crisp passing would lead to the Fords' second and eventual game-winning goal in the second half as Krapes created just enough space near the end line to find West right on the doorstep for a 2-0 advantage during the 65th minute of game action. Krapes was credited with her first assist of the season, while West's goal also her first this season.
Franklin & Marshall brought the game back to within a single goal during the 86th minute but Haverford wasted little time pushing its lead back to two goals. After a pair of earlier 1v1 situations in the half with the F&M goalie were saved, Gabrielle Cipriano finally beat the goalie in that situation for the first goal of her rookie campaign. She was set up with a nice pass from classmate Mia Reyes, who recorded her first career assist and now has five offensive points this season.
Haverford finished the game with twice as many shots as the visiting Diplomats, 18-9. Leanne Ludwick led the Fords with four total shots, while goals scorers Mathis and West each tallied three shot attempts. Both of those players scored on their only attempts on target, as did Cipriano. In goal, Ali Weiner was called on to make two saves during the opening 45 minutes while Hannah Friedrich closed down the winning effort with another save during the second half.
Women's soccer will now head out on the road this Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. game under the lights at Widener. That will be the first of two road trips for the team as Haverford returns to Centennial Conference action next Saturday at Johns Hopkins in an 8 p.m. start.