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BY VICTOR BRADY

In print | Published October 1, 2009

The No. 12 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (7-2, 2-0 CC) blasted 23 shots — 10 on goal — as they defeated the No. 20 Swarthmore women’s soccer team (8-2, 2-1 CC) by a score of 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at Clothier Field.

The loss dropped the Garnet to 1-1 in the Centennial Conference and 7-2 on the season.

But even after falling to 12th ranked Hopkins, the Garnet moved up three spots in the national rankings from 20th to 17th. The Blue Jays rose to No. 10 with the victory over the Garnet. Hopkins and Swarthmore are ranked second and third, respectively, in the Mid-Atlantic region, behind national No. 1 Messiah.

And the women are ready to bounce back and continue their competitive play throughout the Centennial Conference schedule.

Midfielder Alyssa Bowie ’12 is confident that she and her teammates can respond to the loss and build from the game in which the team had four shots on goal among a handful of other scoring chances.

“After the Hopkins game, I think we realized that we’re most successful, as a team, when we play a possession-minded game — that’s our strength,” Bowie said. “We need to really focus on playing to feet and staying composed when we have the ball.”

Fifth-year head coach Todd Anckaitis agrees. “The only way we can see if anything has been learned from the Hopkins loss is to see what happens in the next couple of games.  Lessons about possession, composure, competing and confidence were woven throughout,” Anckaitis said.

After the Garnet’s only other loss, a 2-0 decision against The College of New Jersey, the women bounced back strongly. “We responded well to the TCNJ loss with good results against a nationally ranked Dickinson and a regionally ranked Widener, so I expect they’ll be ready for their next set of exams,” Anckaitis added.

Anckaitis has turned the Garnet into a national power. Swarthmore won back-to-back ECAC championships in 2007 and 2008, with last year’s team going 10-4-6.

The Garnet have been incredibly consistent this year, especially considering the graduation of a strong core of seniors, including Lauren Walker ’09, who started every game in goal last year.

A year later, Walker has joined the coaching staff, and Marie Mutryn ’12 has emerged as the new stalwart on the goal line for the next three years. In her first month as a starter, Mutryn has already been named Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week and ECAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week.

Mutryn has allowed only six goals in the first nine games this year and she is quick to complement Walker and her defense, which recorded three team saves in a two game span last week.

“Having Lauren on the coaching staff is awesome. I really get to learn from her because she has so much experience with the college game. She basically trains me personally every practice and it really helps having the one-on-one attention she gives me,” Mutryn said.

The sophomore added that “the defense in front of me [has been] great, and I always feel really protected and comfortable with them. Everyone on defense is aggressive and will do anything to keep the ball out of the net.”

Anchoring that defense are veterans Taylor Rhodes ’10 and Eileen Earl ’10, as well as Laura Bolger ’11.

But the veterans have not been the only ones to make strong contributions in the back, with Haley Most ’13, Alexa Ross ’13 and Ariana Spiegel ’13 all seeing significant playing time at midfield and defense.

According to Bowie, “[The first-years] have really added depth to our squad as a whole. We have strong lines across the board.”

The transition from 2008 into this season has been about much more than new players, though. After experimenting with a 4-3-3 formation last year, the Garnet has switched to the 4-3-3 full-time.
“Last year, we tried the 4-3-3 a few times, but now we’re really focusing on using it as a way of being strong through the center of the field and having numbers up in our attacking third. It’s forcing us to be a smarter team on the whole, making us really think about the choices we make on the field, and encouraging us to be dynamic in every position,” Bowie added.

This strength up front has been evident, with Swarthmore outscoring their opponents 19-6 through the first ten games, despite being unable to bury a shot against Hopkins.

Tuesday night saw a shot-frenzy at Clothier Field, as the Garnet had some fun after jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first period against Washington. Swarthmore outshot the Shorewomen 35-2 and had 11 corner kicks in the blowout.

Mutryn wasn’t called on for a single save against the Shorewomen, who fell to (5-3-1, 1-2 CC) with the loss.

Megan Colombo ’11 scored two on the way to a 4-0 Swarthmore victory.

Right back on track.

Swarthmore will next play three straight road games starting with a 1 p.m. contest at McDaniel (2-6, 1-1 CC) on Saturday. The Garnet will return home on Oct. 21 against Ursinus at 7 p.m.

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