Garnet Soccer Receives Team Fair Play Award
ROXBOROUGH, Pa. -- The Swarthmore women's soccer team was honored with the Team Fair Play Award from the Eastern Pennsylvania & Delaware Soccer Officials Association on Nov. 28th.
The award is nominated and voted by the members of the organization consisting of soccer officials that oversee college and high school games in the eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware area. Annually the association gives out one college and one high school award to teams who show the most consistent good sportsmanship on the field.
Team members Kristen Traband ’08, Danielle Tocchet ’08, Maggie DeLorme ‘09, and Alexa Bensimhon ‘09 were nominated by their teammates to represent the team in receiving the College award. Three of the student-athletes (Traband was unable to attend due to commitments to the Swarthmore women’s basketball team), along with head coach Todd Anckaitis, were presented with the award on Wednesday night at the yearly banquet that was held in Roxborough, Pa. (pictured above). The high school award went to the Holy Ghost Prep boys’ program from Bensalem, Pa.
This is the second time in two years Swarthmore soccer has been honored: the Garnet men’s soccer team received the award in 2005.
The Swarthmore women set four Centennial records this season, including 13 shutouts—the Garnet ended up third in all of Division III in goals-against average (0.301). Goaltender Lauren Walker posted lowest goals-against average for a season with a 0.27 mark, while recording the most shutouts in a season with 10. The team also had the most CC Player of the Week winners this season (six): midfielder Kirsten Peterson (twice – Oct. 15 & 29), Tocchet (twice – Sept. 5 and Oct. 2), defender Cait Mullarkey (Sept. 19) and Walker (Sept. 5) all received the accolade.
The team spent five weeks with a national ranking, the first-ever in program history, peaking at #18 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas poll. The Garnet women (14-2-3 overall) made their second consecutive appearance in the Centennial Conference playoffs and finished their season with the program’s first-ever ECAC Southern Division III Championship.