BY SONALI SHAI

In print | Published October 28, 2004

In dramatic fashion, the Garnet field hockey team downed rival Haverford in a 2-1, double overtime win on Tuesday. Heidi Fieselmann ’06 converted a Lauren Sippel pass to grab the win for the squad.

Chloe Lewis ’06 put Swarthmore on the board in the first minute of the game, giving the Garnet the momentum it needed to keep Haverford in check. The Fords rallied around freshman attacker Sarah Walker, who netted the tying goal with just over 11 minutes left in the game.

With the win, the Garnet improve to 3-6 in the conference and 8-7 overall. The victory also gives Swarthmore a point in the race for the Hood Trophy. Currently, the Garnet and the Squirrels are tied 1-1 in the annual competition.

Earlier this week the team took a break from its losses with a win against Bryn Mawr before falling again to Muhlenberg. With a conference record of 0-8, Bryn Mawr was, as Joanna Hess ‘05 said, a “comfortable” game. "We didn’t have to go very far for it," she said.

The game against Muhlenberg, ranked only one position above Swat in the conference, was a disappointing loss. “We know that most of the teams in our conference are good” Hess said, “and we don’t take them lightly”.

Hess broke the game down into “what could have been” and “the pitfalls of turf”.

“I think that we caused a lot of scoring opportunities for Muhlenberg. We just didn’t capitalize on any of them,” she said. “Against Bryn Mawr, we had some great moments both on offense and defense.” Hess acknowledged the work of the team’s offense, “Kat Athansiades [’05] had a great stroke towards the end of the game, and that was exciting,” she said. “People played well in the offensive circle: everyone had their sticks down.”

As for the playing field: “They are a turf team, with a really good passing game, and they used that to their advantage here,” Hess said. “Muhlenberg’s a skilled team- and since they play on turf, there’s a lot of running, faster running, involved. It requires better, more precise stick skills.” This game is familiar to the Tide, who practice on a home turf field. “It’s more what we’re trained for, and the kind of game we play is more controlled,” she said.

Despite fluctuating performances and missed opportunities, however, the Tide felt better about the way it has played. Karen Lorang ‘07 called it a “step in the right direction” with unreflective scores. "We all took a little time to reflect on how we’re doing and to focus in on our games," she said, pleased with the way her team is progressing. This season is seen as a springboard for next year. Pressure, bad luck, and not converting scoring opportunities have plagued the team. We could have been more consistent," Lorang said, chalking it up to youth and lack of experience.

The Tide look forward to the final week of the season. Hess is particularly excited about Haverford. “We have three more games in the season all coming up this week, and people always get up for Haverford,” Hess said.

The team will take on DeSales at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 28 on Clothier Field. Saturday marks the end of the season where the Garnet will host the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats at noon.

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