ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The No. 25 Haverford College women's lacrosse team (6-3, 2-0 CC) came back in dramatic fashion over Muhlenberg (8-2, 0-2 CC), to claim a 13-11 victory at Scotty Wood Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Brooke Epstein was the catalyst offensively for the Fords, finding the back of the net three times and assisting on two other Haverford goals. Daniela Martini dished out three helpers in the victory, while Kylie McNamara came away with five draw controls.
Lizzie Healy scooped up five ground balls to lead the Fords, and caused two Muhlenberg turnovers.
In between the pipes, Lizzie Symonds made nine stops, while facing 20 shots from the Mules.
Tiffany Mikulis got the scoring started during the early goings of the game, finding the back of the net at the 13:12 mark, to hand the Scarlet and Black an early 1-0 lead. After Muhlenberg leveled the game with 12:58 to go in the opening stanza, the Fords went up by two goals after Epstein and McNamara fired shots past the Mules' goalkeeper. Down 3-1, Muhlenberg rattled off three unanswered goals, including two goals from Nicole Steiner, to take a 4-3 lead into the second quarter.
Jillian Kubikowski ripped a shot past Symonds to increase the Mules lead to 5-3, before McNamara slotted in her second goal of the contest to pull the visitors within one, 5-4. Muhlenberg then closed out the first half on a 3-0 run, with two key goals coming from the free position, as it was No. 25 Haverford who found themselves trailing 8-4 at the halftime break.
The Fords and Mules traded goals to begin quarter number three, as Ava Milia and Sophie Jaffe pushed the game to a 9-5 scoreline with 13:12 remaining in the period. Lauren Cherven boosted the Muhlenberg lead to 10-5, before the Scarlet and Black went on a quick 3-0 scoring run of their own.
Two goals from Ellie Hughes and a player-up, free position goal from Louisa Coughlin made it just a two-goal game at 10-8, with 7:35 flashing on the scoreboard. Kubikowski's fourth and final goal of the matchup gave the Mules a much-needed insurance goal, as the hosts carried an 11-8 lead into the final stanza.
Down 11-8, the Fords went to work offensively, as Epstein scored two unassisted goals within the first five minutes of the final quarter, to pull the visitors within one, 11-10, with 10:04 left. At the 8:59 mark, Bella Gattuso knotted the game at 11-11 with 8:59 remaining in the contest.
With the game coming down to the wire, Martini lasered a shot into the nylon to give Haverford their first lead of the game since 9:17 in the first quarter. An insurance goal from Jordan Denaver with 1:01 to go, sealed the deal as the Scarlet and Black escaped Allentown with a 13-11 victory.
You can catch the Fords back on Swan Field for their next game, as Haverford welcomes the Shorewomen of Washington College to campus on Wednesday, April 3, at 7 p.m. The game will be part of the Centennial Conference's green-out games for Mental Health Awareness Week.