BY JARED NOLAN

In print | Published November 6, 2008

In the final two matches of the regular season, Swarthmore women’s soccer (9-3-4, 5-1-4 CC) posted two scoreless draws. The first 0-0 tie came against Haverford (7-9-1, 4-4-1 CC) on the Garnet’s Senior Night last Wednesday. The one point from the draw was, however, enough for the Garnet to clinch a spot in the Centennial Conference tournament. This marks the third year in a row that Swarthmore has made it to the playoffs. On this past Saturday the Garnet registered its second consecutive scoreless tie in a match against the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats (8-4-3, 4-3-3 CC) to close out the regular season.

While no goals were scored in the match against Haverford, the Garnet controlled the tempo early and had numerous close chances. In the first half Swarthmore held the shot advantage 7-2 over the Fords.

Forward Melinda Petre ’09 missed an early shot over the net and midfield Maggie DeLorme ’10 came even closer when her kick rattled the crossbar and ricocheted downward, barely staying out of the goal. Later in the half the Haverford fans anxiously gripped the cold benches of Clothier Field when their goalkeeper completely whiffed on a ball played back to her, but the Fords regained possession before any harm was done.

Swarthmore also started the second half promisingly, getting an early opportunity off of a cross by Amy Vachal ’11. Forward Kelsey Cline ’11 connected with the ball, but banged it harmlessly off the post. The team was not able to find the net, even after both overtime periods. Cline was not terribly distraught, explaining, “It happens. I would rather fail to score here than fail in the playoffs.” A low-scoring match could have been predicted, because both teams’ keepers are in the top five for career shutouts in Centennial Conference history. All that mattered was that the team clinched a playoff berth on Senior Night with all four seniors: keeper Lauren Walker, defenders Cait Mullarkey and Alexa Bensimhon, and forward Melinda Petre starting.

The match against Franklin & Marshall had a similar story line. The Garnet outshot the Diplomats 15-10 for the game and had multiple goal-scoring chances.

The best scoring opportunity came in the 70th minute, off of a corner by Petre. Forward Emily Coleman ’12 positioned herself well and headed the ball, but it struck the bottom of the crossbar and was cleared away. “The goalie pushed me and the ref said it would have been a PK, but he didn’t call it,” Coleman said.

She elaborated that the play was a testament to the strength of the Centennial Conference and how every team played hard to win. The Garnet had more chances, but Coleman conceded that “luck just wasn’t on our side that game.”

Swarthmore Head Coach Todd Anckaitis expressed confidence that the team will return to its scoring ways, but he also noted the lack of goals is also due to the strong defense in the Centennial Conference.

In relation to other comparable conferences, Anckaitis observed that the Centennial Conference has significantly more teams ranked in the top 50 in the country for Goals Against Average and Save Percentage. As a result in practice he is focusing on improving the offensive, “doing more work this week on our set pieces and penalties, as those can often determine a championship.” Cline also noted that the team has been using different combinations up front. “We’re still getting used to each other’s play,” she said. This is partly due to the concussion forward Megan Colombo ’11 suffered during the Haverford game, but she will be back on the field for the playoffs.

While the Garnet could not get lucky around the opponent’s net, they did so in another way. “We finally caught a break when Gettysburg and Muhlenberg tied and put us in third,” Cline said. The tie meant Muhlenberg fell one point short of Swarthmore, granting the Garnet a first-round bye and automatic placement into the semifinals. The extra rest is welcomed because Swarthmore had played three straight overtime matches.

While all of those games ended in disappointing ties, the team is staying positive. “In some ways we’re kind of discouraged, but I think everyone is really excited and pumped for this weekend,” Coleman said.

Anckaitis agreed. “Sometimes on a journey you have to take a detour.  The detour doesn’t lessen the splendor of the destination,” he said. “The upside for us is huge and we’re not letting the route spoil the view from where we stand.”

Right now the Garnet stands at a crossroads. One road leads back to Swarthmore College, ending the season. The other road leads to the Centennial Conference Championship. Standing in the way of the latter route is Dickinson College, whom the Garnet beat 1-0 earlier in the season. The path Swarthmore women’s soccer takes will be decided this Saturday at approximately 2:30 p.m. at Johns Hopkins University.

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