Beginning with a loss to Washington College that snapped its three-game winning streak, the Swarthmore field hockey team endured a rough defensive stretch. In that loss, which came on October 5, and losses in the next two games, the Garnet surrendered a total of twelve goals, including eight second-half goals.
Recently however, Swarthmore and its defense have been on the upswing, winning the past two games while allowing just one goal in total. The second of those victories came on Saturday in a tight 1-0 victory over the McDaniel Green Terror at Clothier Field.
The shutout came one year and two days since the Garnet’s previous one, a 3-0 victory over Muhlenberg which occurred on October 13 of last year. The win was also the Garnet’s first over McDaniel in five years.
“I think we played a great game offensively and really spread the ball around, so we were not predictable,” head coach Lauren Fuchs said in an email. “Defensively, we played well because we defended very well off of our press. Our forwards were the first line of defense and that helped us to be able to counter-attack.”
In the game’s 25th minute, first-year forward Beth Johnson ’15 scored the game’s only goal in impressive fashion, an unassisted score off a spin move while double-covered.
“The team was really able to come together on the field in a way we have been working towards all season,” Johnson said. “We used each other well and that allowed for a lot of possession and control which was important for the win.”
The goal came off a strong offensive push by Swarthmore to start the game. The Garnet took five shots in the first 13 minutes and four more before Johnson’s goal broke the scoreless tie.
“We were able to use our transitions and movement in the midfield in particular in order to find the gaps in the field and transition in order to get our scoring opportunities,” defender Allison Ranshous ’13 said.
McDaniel goalkeeper Stephanie Thompson kept her team in the game with several excellent saves, finishing with nine overall, and allowing just the one goal that proved to be the difference.
Offensively, the Garnet dominated the first half, finishing with ten shots to McDaniel’s seven and seven penalty corners to the Green Terror’s two.
The second half, however, was the story of the Garnet defense to an even greater degree, as McDaniel stepped up the pressure but failed to find the net. Goalkeeper Gabriella Capone ’14 saved all six shots on goal to earn her first career shutout.
With five minutes to go, and the Green Terror pressing, midfielder Catie Meador ’13 made a clutch defensive save off a shot from McDaniel forward Kathryn Corson.
Defenders Anne Rosenblatt ’14 and Julia Tallarico ’13 also helped to spearhead the strong effort that neutralized the McDaniel offense.
After successfully defending two more last-minute attempts — one blocked, the other sailing wide — the Garnet put the win in the books.
After the game, the players expressed satisfaction in keeping the energy level high until the victory was assured.
“One of the biggest things for us in this game was the fact that we maintained our intensity throughout the entire game,” Katie Teleky’ 13 said. “In the past, we’ve had a tendency to be a first half team, but against McDaniel we really put it all together and played two solid halves.”
The team moves to 6-7 on the year and 3-4 in conference play, while McDaniel still enjoys an 8-4 overall record but is now only 3-3 in conference matches.
“Everyone on the field played good, hard defense and really shut McDaniel down,” Ranshous said. “We also had a few key defensive plays near the goal cage that pretty much saved a goal or two from going in.”
“Personally, I think the juniors in particular had a good game, as we’re working on taking our leadership off the field and implementing that during games.”
The Garnet achieved another three-game winning streak on Wednesday with a 5-1 victory over Centennial Conference opponent Muhlenberg at Clothier Field.
“We just need to continue to play aggressively,” Fuchs said, “going for interceptions and loose balls and keep supporting each other.”
Start time is slated for 4:30 p.m.
