Centennial Powerhouse Haverford Tops Goucher Late

TOWSON, Md. — Facing off against a Haverford squad which was the regular season champions of the Centennial Conference last season, Goucher battled with the Fords throughout the afternoon before ultimately suffering a 3-1 defeat at Beldon Field.

Lashaw Salta (Allen, Texas/Plano East) opened up the scoring for the Gophers (1-1) just 3:30 into the opening half. Haverford (1-0) took the lead for good with under 20 minutes remaining. The two teams combined for just seven shots on goal in a tightly-contested defensive slugfest.

"I could not have asked for more from the guys today," head coach Bryan Laut said. "We played one of the top teams in the region as close as you can and just didn't get the bounces. Though the loss stings, there are a ton of things we can build on from this game to help us accomplish our goal of making the Landmark playoffs."

Salta took advantage of a defensive giveaway early on. After intercepting a wayward pass, he dribbled to the top of the box and fired a low shot into the left corner for the third goal of his Gopher career and first since Oct. 11, 2011 against Ursinus.

The Fords equalized after an unlucky break for Goucher in the 21st minute. Tejan Walcott sent a cross into the box which was cleared away by Jeremy Hardy (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Beacon School), but the ball went straight to Haverford's Colin Seitz, who directed the ball past an unsuspecting Nicholas Stolarz (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson).

That was the only shot on goal the Fords managed in the opening 45 minutes, and the teams each totaled five shots prior to intermission.

The defenses continued to control the game after the break, with only one shot in the first 25 minutes of the half. The second, however, found the back of the net for the Fords, as Brady Seitz found some space on the right side and blasted a shot into the top right corner.

Haverford put the game away 10 minutes later when Walcott knocked in his own rebounded shot past Stolarz.

The Gophers had one last chance to get back in the game, but a hard shot from Luis Gomes (Bushkill, Pa./East Stroudsburg North) at the top of the box was stopped by Haverford goalie Sam Miller.

Goucher remains at Beldon Field on Wednesday night when the Gophers take on another Centennial Conference opponent in McDaniel at 7 p.m. to conclude a three-game homestand.