Julia Wraps Up ECAC Sweep!
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Sophomore Julia Luongo put home the game-winner in the fifth shootout round and the Garnet took home the 2007 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Southern Region Championship.
Combined with the Garnet men’s team’s 3-2 win over Frostburg State, the win gives Swarthmore its first-ever pair of ECAC soccer tournament wins.
Swarthmore made all five of its shootout attempts, and junior goalkeeper Lauren Walker (Fallston, Md. / The Hotchkiss School) made a huge save in the fourth round just before Luongo’s heroics.
The two teams had previously played this season in the first round of the Swat Kick Classic on September 1st. Swarthmore won that game 1-0 on freshman Kelsey Cline’s (Stanwood, WA / Stanwood) first career goal in the 49th minute.
This time, neither team found the back of the net in regulation. Both teams had chances, as Swarthmore took 21 shots and the Cardinals launched seven corner kicks in the first 90 minutes. Goalkeepers Walker of Swarthmore and Tere Rossi of Catholic combined for nine saves to keep the game scoreless, while Garnet freshman Megan Colombo (Arcadia, CA / Arcadia) led all offensive players with 10 shots.
Both teams put shots on goal in the first overtime but Walker and Rossi remained flawless.
The second overtime belonged to the Garnet, who took seven shots to Catholic’s zero, but Rossi made four saves, giving her a total of 13 on the game, to send the match to penalty kicks.
The first three shootout rounds belonged to the shooters, with freshman Sarah Reece (Manhattan Beach, CA / Mira Costa), Cline, freshman Kirsten Peterson (Fenton, MI / Powers Catholic) converting for the Garnet. Senior Danielle Tocchet (West Point, NY / James I. O’Neil) gave Swarthmore a 4-3 lead, and Walker followed with a huge save to give the Garnet a chance to win on the next shot. Sophomore Julia Luongo (Tallahassee, FL / Leon) stepped up and put home the clincher.
Garnet junior Cait Mullarkey (Wilmington, Del./ Ursuline Academy) was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament following the championship match.
The result goes into the books as a tie, completing Swarthmore’s season at 14-2-3, an improvement over last year’s 15-5-1 mark which was the result of the largest improvement in all of Division III. The Garnet will miss the leadership of seniors Tocchet and Kristen Traband (Swarthmore, PA / Ridley) but will return arguably their most-talented team ever in 2008 and will be among the favorites for the Centennial Conference championship.