WESTMINSTER, Md. - The No. 23 Haverford College Women's Lacrosse team (8-3, 4-0 CC) remained undefeated in the Centennial Conference, picking up a win against McDaniel (6-6, 1-3 CC) at Gill Stadium on the campus of McDaniel College Saturday afternoon, holding on for a 12-11 triumph.
Brooke Epstein dominated on the field, scoring six goals, to lead Haverford offensively. Kylie McNamara paced the Fords in draw controls with four, while Tiffany Mikulis and Reilly Curran each had two.
Defensively, Lauren Paprocki shined for the Scarlet and Black, scooping up five ground balls, causing two turnovers, and adding one goal. In between the pipes, Lizzie Symonds stopped six shots during the afternoon.
McDaniel rushed out to a quick 2-0 lead, as a free-position goal from Emma Legacy and a player-up goal from Charlotte Alexander gave the hosts a two-goal advantage with 10:02 left in the beginning stanza. Epstein pulled the Fords back within a goal at the 8:18 mark, before Legacy netted her second of the game with 6:06 to go in the first quarter. The goal proved to be the final one in the opening period, as Green Terror carried a 3-1 lead into the second quarter.
Down 3-1 in the second quarter the Scarlet and Black went on an offensive showcase, scoring six unanswered goals, to go up 7-3. In the scoring run, Tiffany Mikulis scored two consecutive goals, followed by two more goals from Epstein (one coming from a free-position shot), a goal from Kylie Kearon, and a tall from Louisa Coughlin, to take the substantial lead. However, McDaniel was able to find the back of the net three times before halftime, as the visitors held onto a narrow 7-6 edge headed into the halftime break.
McNamara opened up the scoring in the second half, scoring Haverford's eighth goal of the contest, before Epstein's fourth of the game gave the Fords a three-goal advantage, at 9-7, at the 7:50 mark of the third quarter.
The Green Terror brought the game to within one with a strike from Emma Miller at 6:50, before a player-up free-position goal from Paprocki, gave the hosts a 10-7 lead, with the final stanza looming.
Epstein opened up quarter number four with goals five and six on the day, before Legacy's third goal of the matchup at the 5:24 mark chipped the Haverford lead down to 12-8. Kat Thayer ripped in a goal for McDaniel at 4:06, before two more goals were fired in by Miller, as the Green Terror trailed by just one goal, 12-11, with 1:28 left.
Following a draw control for McDaniel, Lizzie Healy forced a turnover, with the ground ball scooped up by Paprocki, to ice the game for the Scarlet and Black as the Fords escaped Gill Stadium with their fourth Centennial Conference victory of the season.
Haverford's next contest will be Saturday, April 13, as No. 23 Women's Lacrosse will challenge No. 7 Gettysburg at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium, with the first draw scheduled for 3:30 p.m.