After a tumultuous couple of years, Haverford’s athletic teams are finally back in the game. With a myriad of accomplishments, The Clerk spoke with captains from each team to find out what made this season a success.
Men’s Cross Country
Under Captains Matt Katz ’22 and Jacob Gaba ’22, Men’s Cross Country won the Centennial Conference Championship, with an impressive 37 points and four Black Squirrels as top-10 finishers. As a result of the win, Ryan Kredell ’23, Max Brelig ’23, Peter Buckley ’23, Jamie Moreland ’23, and Nico Tripeny ’23 were named to All-Centennial Conference squads. Following the Conference title, the team, scoring 50 hard-fought points, emerged victorious in the NCAA Metro Region Championship for the 25th time. With times as fast as 25:09, Peter LaRochelle ’25, Amos Karlsen ’22, Miles Colescott ’25, Kredell, Brelig, Buckley, and Tripeny were awarded All-Region. The team concluded this wonderful season with their 28th consecutive Nationals appearance, making Buckley, Bratt, and Kredell four-time NCAA qualifiers. This achievement has not been accomplished more than a dozen times in the program’s history.
Senior Captain Katz spoke on the outlook that carried the team through a phenomenal season: “A successful team is made up of teammates who are completely invested in the personal growth and success of every contributing member. We brought this mentality to every practice and race this season.” Katz is content with the 2021 team’s legacy; he describes their Metro Region title as one of the most impactful wins in program history. Additionally, it is significant to note that Brelig and Kredell were named Philadelphia Sports Information Directions Association (PhillySIDA) Academic All-Area. Lastly, Coach Donnelly acted as a key contributor to the team’s success, earning both Centennial Cross Country Coach of the Year and Metro Region Coach of the Year.
Field Hockey
2021 was a historic year for Field Hockey. The team had an outstanding run, finishing with an overall record of 13-5 and a conference record of 6-4. Led by captains Caroline Channell ’22, Julie Post ’22, and Ravenel Davis ’22, the team began the season with a record of 13-2, the best start in program history. The team also climbed to No. 17 in the national rankings after being slotted ninth in the Centennial Conference preseason poll. In addition, the Fords matched the program’s longest win streak with eight straight victories, registered seven shutouts, and were the eighth-ranked defense in the nation for a period of time, holding opponents to just 0.76 goals per game.
Senior Captain Ravenel Davis spoke on the team’s unprecedented success: after dealing with the repercussions of the pandemic, “we learned to take nothing for granted. No one knew what to expect out of this season, and we showed the conference the grit and talent HCFH is made of. I’m so proud to be part of this team and could not have wished for a better season.” Moreover, Davis mentioned that the season’s most memorable game was their 2-0 triumph against No. 8 Rowan in September; it was the first win against a top-10 ranked team since 2010. The team was also full of generational talents. Hannah Roth ’22 had the fourth-lowest GAA in program history, Olivia Ahart ’23 had the fourth-most assists recorded by a Haverford player, Channell led the Conference in defensive saves, and Davis led the Conference in goals. These remarkable stats earned these players All-Centennial Conference honors. Further, standouts Roth and Davis earned All-Region honors. With a save percentage ranked 15th in the nation, Roth was both a two-time NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week and a two-time Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Davis was a three-time Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week. She had nine game-winners on the season, which is a program record and tied for the most in Centennial single-season history. Lastly, Captain Davis was named to the PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Team and was honored as a third-team All-American, the fifth All-American in program history.
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Soccer had a noteworthy season under Captains Gabrielle Cipriano ’22, Mia Reyes ’22, Calais Irwin ’23, and Hannah Friedrich ’22. They concluded with winning records of 8-7-2 overall and 5-4-1 within the Conference. Captain Irwin expanded on her favorite moment of the season: “My favourite moment was our [double] overtime win against Swat on Senior Day…[the Seniors were] incredible leaders and will surely be missed, so it was a great feeling to celebrate one last win with them.”
Some players had extraordinary accomplishments: Celia Page ’23, Alyssa Saito ’23, and Julie Rebh ’22 were All-Centennial Conference Honorable Mentions, and Moorea Morrison was named to the Centennial Conference All-Sportsmanship Team. In addition, Captain Friedrich was a two-time Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week, finalizing her career with the third-best GAA in program history, and Page was PhillySIDA 2021 Women’s Soccer Academic All-Area. Moreover, Page tallied a team-high of five goals on the season, including a pair of game-winners, and is sixth in Haverford history for points per game and eighth in goals per contest. The squad registered nine shutouts on the season and received the 2020-21 United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award; the team had the third-highest GPA in Division III. This was the 16th consecutive year the team won this award.
Women’s Cross Country
Led by Captains Griffin Kaulbach ’22 and Lauren Tanel ’22, Women’s Cross Country, capturing their first regional title in program history, had an exceptional season. Angie Petrichenko ’22 expressed, “My most memorable cross country race has to be when we won regionals… when we found out we won and were going to Nationals, we were all so purely happy and excited… It made me really happy to be a part of the team that season and see all the hard work pay off in the best way.” Izzy Miller ’22 and Petrichenko were standouts, earning All-Centennial Conference, All-Region, and All-American honors. Having two All-Americans in the same year was a team first. Both Miller and Petrichenko had distinguished seasons: Miller was named Metro Region Athlete of the Year and PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Performer of the Year. Petrichenko was named to the PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Team and recorded the fastest nationals finish from Haverford since 2002.
In addition, Miller took home two intercollegiate titles at the Rowan Border Battle and the Metro Region Championship, becoming the first individual region champion since 1996. The squad was full of talents: Kaulbauch also earned All-Region honors and Tanel was named to the Centennial Conference All-Sportsmanship Team. Additionally, first-year Katie Hirsche took the individual title at the Bryn Mawr invitational with a 5K time of 20:21, a new course record. Lastly, Coach Fran Rizzo was named Metro Region Coach of the Year, and more than ten Black Squirrels were on the 2021 Centennial Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll.
Women’s Volleyball
Women’s Volleyball had an unforgettable season. Senior Captains Izzy Schwam, Dina Kosyagin, and Riley Outen led the team to an impressive 23-5 overall record and a 9-1 conference record, crushing numerous ranked opponents and achieving their best record since 2009. Some star players include Juliet Young ’25, Taylor Jones ’25, Sara Hunsberger ’22, and Kosyagin, who all received All-Centennial Conference honors. Young had a strong rookie campaign, earning herself All-Region V honors, Honorable Mention All-America, Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year, and MVP at the Neumann Knight Invitational Tournament. In addition, being Haverford’s primary libero, Young led the Conference in digs with 594.
Moreover, Captain Kosyagin had a terrific farewell season. She also was named All-Region V, led the Conference in kills, and set a program record for kills in a three-set match with 21 against rival Swarthmore. She ended her career with 938 total kills, giving her the seventh-best kills per set mark in program history. The team was filled with talent: Hunsberger was named CoSIDA Academic All-District, Elena Filograna ’22 was named to the Centennial Conference All-Sportsmanship Team, and Abby Holland ’25 was named to the Ford Invitational All-Tournament team. Of course, there were not only individual accomplishments. The team had 10 sweeps throughout the regular season and post-season, ranked #2 in the Conference and #4 in Region V, and had an NCAA first-round victory.
The team succeeded off the court as well, having nine players appear on the Centennial Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll. Kosyagin spoke of her thrilling final season: “We not only had an outstanding in-season record, but also got an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs for the first time since 2014… this was our goal all along, since the first day of pre-season in August.” Kosyagin discusses the constant display of energy and team culture throughout the season and her pride in knowing that everyone left all they had on the court. She says that the most memorable match was against Swarthmore on Senior Day. The Black Squirrels rose to the occasion and swept their rival opponent under pressure to climb the rankings and keep their season alive. Lastly, the team could not have had their success without Coach Drew Hargrave, named Centennial Conference Coach of the Year.
Men’s Soccer
Led by Captains Anthony Walker ‘22 and Noah Schwab ‘22, Men’s Soccer ended their season with a record of 7-9-1, registering four total shutouts. Walker expressed his feelings about the Fords’ eventful season: “Every moment I’ve had a chance to practice and play with my teammates has been a great experience, and I’m so proud that I was able to lead such a great group… Despite our shortcomings from this past season, I’m excited to see the growth and development of the team for next year, and for them to take hold of the conference once again.”
The team had significant feats throughout the season. Goalkeeper Dylan Ioffreda ‘24 tallied 54 saves, denying 73 percent of the shots he faced all season. In addition, Captain Walker dubbed the overtime thriller against Ursinus the season’s most memorable game, in which Andrew Stephens ‘23 headed the ball to score the game-winning goal. Many team members also earned individual honors: Max Mouer ‘24 was named Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week in October after contributing to multiple shutouts and delivering a corner kick strike to score the game-winning goal against Rutgers-Camden. Alex Millones ‘24 earned Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week in September. Millones was honored after notching three goals and one assist in victories over Dickinson and Arcadia. Ben Ward ‘23 was named to the Centennial Conference All-Sportsmanship Team, and Paul-Andre Coulibaly ‘23, Schwab, and Mouer received All-Centennial Conference honors. Since 2010, Haverford has had multiple All-Centennial Conference honorees in each season. Lastly, Captain Schwab was named PhillySIDA 2021 Men’s Soccer Academic All-Area.
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