HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's lacrosse team (1-0) started the 2020 season with an impressive 20-15 victory over Moravian (0-1) on Swan Field on Saturday. Haverford was paced by a strong offensive effort as Hailey Morris had five goals and Julia Pascarella added four. The defense was also up for the early challenge, causing 22 turnovers, the second-most in program single-game history, while holding the Greyhounds to just 17-for-25 in clear attempts, including a 4-for-11 mark in the first half.
Haverford began the contest on a 4-0 run, striking four times before five minutes had elapsed on the game clock. That run was capped by Katharine Ference scoring her first career goal. Moravian eventually tightened that margin to just one as Liz Bill tallied an unassisted strike with 20:16 remaining. Haverford later regained a four-goal cushion at 11-7 as Morris took a feed from Pascarella, and the two teamed up again just before the half to stretch the lead to five, before Bill added a free-position conversion to again trim the Haverford advantage to four entering the intermission.
Moravian tightened the contest up a bit with a 3-0 run to begin the second half, as Meaghan McMullan added a free-position and later gave a feed to Lindsey Strohl for a goal with 24:46 remaining, and suddenly the Greyhounds were within just one. From that point, Haverford unleashed a methodical 4-0 run, with Pascarella taking a pass from Morris with 15:49 to play to ensure a five goal lead for the Fords at 16-11. The strong stretch continued following a Moravian goal, as Haverford swiftly rattled off two more goals from Belle McMahon and Julia Manetta to take an 18-12 advantage.
Moravian pulled back to within five on two occasions, but got no closer as the Fords remained in command in the waning moments. Haverford's offense was clicking on all cylinders, as the 15 assists in the contest matched the fifth-most in program history. McMahon had a standout game on the ride, as she added five caused turnovers and four ground balls to her pair of goals and two assists. Eliza Brosgol also was a key contributor with three caused turnovers, while Emily Krupnick added three to key the defense. Anna Meyers, Caroline Alexis, and Pascarella also each had multiple caused turnovers.
Amelia Slade and Sarah Cahn split goalkeeping duties, with Slade getting the first half assignment and making five saves, while Cahn started the second half and stopped four shots.
Bill had seven goals and 11 draw controls to pace the visitors, while McMullan added four goals. Rylee Soltis saw the entire game between the pipes for Moravian, making 17 saves as Haverford unleashed 41 shots.
The Fords now return to action with a big test at No. 13 TCNJ on Saturday, February 29. The contest is slated for 1 p.m. as the Fords look to take down a ranked Lions squad for the second straight season after knocking down then-No. 3 TCNJ last February.