BY JARED NOLAN

In print | Published November 13, 2008

In a semifinal match of the Centennial Conference Championship last Saturday, Swarthmore Women’s Soccer suffered a 2-1 loss to the Dickinson Red Devils, ending the Garnet’s hopes of a bid in the NCAA tournament. Despite the loss, which dropped Swarthmore’s record to 9-4-4 and eliminated them from the conference tournament, the Garnet’s season continued in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Championship.

Swarthmore entered last Saturday’s playoff match against Dickinson (the Red Devils were the No. 2 seed with a record of 12-3-3) as the No. 3 seed, competing in its third consecutive Centennial Conference Championship. The game began auspiciously for Swarthmore, who returned to its goal-scoring ways early in the match despite coming off two straight scoreless ties. Garnet Midfielder Kelsey Cline ’11 capitalized in the 17th minute off an assist by fellow midfielder Sarah Reece ’11. Reece recounted the score. “I played a ball over the top of the defense to Kelsey. The goalie came out and Kelsey headed it over her,” she said. It was Cline’s third goal of the season and the eleventh of her career.

Swarthmore’s 1-0 advantage held up for almost half an hour until the Red Devils found a way to respond. Right before the end of the half, in the 42nd minute, Dickinson forward Molly Schaefer found the back of the net, assisted by Courtney Anderson and Ashley Kunkle. The goal sent the match into halftime with the score tied at 1-1. Both teams experienced multiple opportunities in the second half, forcing keepers from both sides to make saves, but neither team could find a way to finish until the 67th minute. Dickinson forward Genevieve Olson scored on an assist by Sarah Montminy, putting the Red Devils up 2-1, a deficit the Garnet would not overcome.

Swarthmore keeper Lauren Walker ’09 finished the game with three saves while Dickinson’s goalie, Kailyn Hartmann, corralled four of the Garnet’s five shots on goal. Another statistic, total shots, was in the Garnet’s favor. Swarthmore had 13 shots to Dickinson’s 10, and the Garnet’s totals were also higher in each of the individual halves. Therefore, the Garnet’s loss was not due to lack of scoring opportunities. Forward Emily Coleman ’12 instead attributed the defeat to another factor. “We had lapses where we lost focus,” she said. “These lapses caused the goals. Both were off quick transitions.” But once the team gave up the goals, forward Megan Colombo ’11 insisted the team did not give up. “We tried to get the momentum back,” she said, “but we were just unlucky.”

The Garnet has had recent success in the ECAC Championship. Last season the team won the regional tournament in a scoreless match against Catholic University that required penalty kicks to establish Swarthmore as the victor. This year the going will be more difficult, however, because the Garnet have been seeded sixth (last season the team had the third seed) and had to play No. 3 seed Delaware Valley College (14-4-1) yesterday. Dickinson, who lost to Johns Hopkins in the Centennial Conference Championship game, also received a berth in the ECAC Championship, seeded fourth.

“We just want to finish off the season with a win and give the seniors another chance,” Colombo said about the tournament. “I think that we’re a lot better then our record shows and we can come together one more time.” Even if the Garnet is unable to produce a victory in the ECAC Championship, the team should come back strong next season. “I think [the seniors] are definitely going to be big losses, but we still have a lot of talent on the team, so we’ll be able to continue without them.” Look for the Garnet to continue their emergence as a Centennial Conference power either in the final rounds of the ECAC Championship or when they begin a new season next September.

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