HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's soccer team (1-0-1) played to a draw against Stevens (0-0-2) on the final day of Haverford Kick Off Classic action at Walton Field Sunday. The Fords got out to an early 2-0 advantage before the Ducks rallied to even the contest.
As was the case on Saturday against Arcadia, the Fords wasted no time getting the offense going. In fact, the two Haverford goals came on the first two shots of the game for the hosts. After Stevens' Jana Mucci saw her shot sail wide in the sixth minute, Haverford converted in the ninth minute of play. A crafty one-touch pass from Liv McMillan to the waiting foot of Keira Prince helped send the home fans into a frenzy as Prince dribbled around a pair of Ducks defenders and finished on her left to open the scoring.
After Claire Cywes was called into action to make a lunging save in the 13th, it was a pair of Main Line natives making their impact felt close to home in the 14th minute. First-year Lauren Anderson collected the ball at midfield and sent a gorgeous through ball to a sprinting Celia Page, who ran and fired from well outside the box, finishing her first goal of the season above the reach of a grasping Dana Perry.
An offensive flurry from the Fords followed in the 17th, with a strong look from Phoebe Garfield blocked before Sarah Klink collected the rebound and fired high. Sadie Kim and Garfield also both had solid looks on target in the 29th, but Stevens got a goal back in the 31st, as Sarah Wnorowski sent a shot in over the reach of Cywes. Ashley Chun appeared to have Haverford's third goal of the contest in the 37th, but the ball glanced just off the crossbar and somehow stayed out of the goal mouth. Haverford headed to the halftime intermission up 2-1.
Stevens equalized on the first shot of the second half, as Mucci sent a long-range stunner into the goal to tie things up in the 49th. Each side had plenty of offensive changes in the final 30 minutes of action, with Stevens missing a chance to take the lead in the 78th minute as Brynn Budka hit the crossbar and the redirection found the foot of Olivia Panko, who had her shot saved by Cywes.
With under 10 seconds remaining in regulation, Liv McMillan got free in the attacking third and got in a perfect position to receive a volley from Keira Prince with just the keeper to beat. Her attempt on frame was just slightly off-kilter, allowing the Stevens goalkeeper to make a lunge forward to corral the ball as it bounced in front of goal, ensuring the draw.
Haverford and Stevens each notched 13 shots in the contest, and each side had three corner kicks on the afternoon. Cywes was called into action for a pair of saves in her 90 minutes of action.
Haverford will now return to action on Wednesday, hosting Delaware Valley in a midweek clash. The contest is slated to begin at 5 p.m. on Walton Field.