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BY KEVIN FRIEDENBERG

In print | Published September 28, 2006

On a muggy Saturday afternoon at Clothier Field, the Swarthmore field hockey team got its first taste of Centennial Conference play against the 18th-ranked Gettysburg Bullets. Since both teams were making their conference debuts, it was clear that this game could have potential playoff implications. Though the Swarthmore team was hungry to slap another win onto its record, fate was not smiling upon them as Gettysburg (5-2 overall) left with a 2-1 victory.

Swarthmore began the attack early, when Lindsay Roth ’07 tallied her second goal of the season just three and a half minutes into the first half off a rebound given up by Bullets goalkeeper Katherine Corkhill. Gettysburg refused to roll over and die, however, as the Bullets attempted to mount several counterattacks that were successfully shut down by Swarthmore defenders Anna Baeth ’09, Julie Monaghan ’07 and Saranne Perman ’07.

Gettysburg kept the pressure up, and groans could be heard from the Bullet fans as a shot from Cristi Farrell was deflected wide of the goal. Swarthmore goaltender Karen Lorang ’07 preserved the lead by denying Gettysburg forward Savannah Ruth on the doorstep halfway through the first half of play.

After this initial surge of Bullet chances, the game turned into one of attrition, with neither team able to turn the other’s mistakes into points. After a penalty stroke was awarded to Summer Spicer ‘07 with just over five minutes to play in the first half, it appeared as though the nail was about to be driven into the coffin. Yet Corkhill denied the shot and preserved Gettysburg’s chances of a comeback late in the first half. In the closing minutes, the Garnet kept up the pressure until a costly turnover turned into a penalty corner, which the Swarthmore defense successfully blocked as time expired to save the lead.

After halftime and a few words from coach Kelly Wilcox, the Garnet surged on offense, carrying over the momentum they had from the last few minutes of the first half. Corner chances early in the second half proved fruitless as the Gettysburg defense kept the ball out of the cage.

Gettysburg’s persistence paid off when Ruth was able to sneak the ball past Lorang for the equalizing goal off a corner pass from Sarah Latta with almost 24 minutes remaining in regulation play. This goal allowed the Bullets to steal the momentum and take several more shots on the Garnet net, though none were successful.

With 17 minutes to play, Coach Wilcox called a timeout to give the Garnet a chance to regroup and discuss some strategy. The pep talk seemed to be taking effect as Swarthmore unleashed a flurry of attempts at the Gettysburg net, including one that trickled just wide of the goal with seven minutes left in the game.

In the blink of an eye, everything changed. All the offensive pressure and all the defensive stops were nullified when the Bullets were able to convert on a corner, with Ruth scoring her second goal of the game off a pass from Lexie Hearn with five and a half minutes left to play. A sinking feeling struck the Garnet hopeful as time wound down and the team was unable to find the equalizer.

Until the final minutes of the game, the Garnet largely dictated the pace. “We dominated basically. We felt we were the stronger team. We were there,” midfielder Ashley Gunter ’09 said. Even though the game ended with unfavorable results, the women of the Swarthmore field hockey team remained motivated.

“The fact that we were winning for most of the game, against a highly ranked team, shows our potential. We’re not stopping,” Julia Morrison ’07 said.

The Garnet rebounded quickly with a 4-0 win over Bryn Mawr Tuesday afternoon. “It was a little slower playing on grass but we adapted,” Hoa Pham ’10 said. Four women on the team put up scores, including Abigail Fischer ’08, Ashley Gunter ’09, Abbe Muller ’10 and Joslyn Young ’10. The win puts the Garnet at 6-3 overall with a 1-1 conference record.

“This was a clutch win, especially because it was in conference. It was a great opportunity for the non-starters to get in,” midfielder Sarah Reynolds ’09 said.

The women will play their next game on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Clothier Field against the Dickinson Red Devils before hosting the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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