Four Garnet Women Named All-Centennial
LANCASTER, Pa. -- The Swarthmore College women’s soccer team had four players selected to the 2008 All-Centennial list, following a vote by the conference head coaches. Garnet seniors Cait Mullarkey and Lauren Walker were named to the first team. Sophomore Megan Colombo and Laura Bolger were named to second team and honorable mention, respectively.
Mullarkey (Wilmington, Del. / Ursuline Academy), a defender, becomes the first back and fifth player in Conference history to earn first-team All-Centennial honors all four years. As a two-time team captain, she anchored a defensive unit that ranked in the top 30 nationally in teams goals against average (.583), including 10 shutouts. The Conference also honored Mullarkey by naming her to the Weekly Honor Roll on September 15. The honors biology major was additionally named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District II women's soccer team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for the second straight year and to the Conference Academic Honor Roll for the third time.
Walker (Fallston, Mary. / The Hotchkiss School [CT]) closes out her stellar career among the elite goalkeepers in the nation, making A--Conference for the third consecutive season (first team in 2007; honorable mention in 2006). In 2008, she ranked in the top-30 in goal-against average (.567) and save percentage (.875) for 2008. Walker was selected to the Conference Weekly Honor Roll three times (Oct.6, Oct. 13, Nov. 3), and was chosen as Conference Defensive Player of the Week on October 27 after posting one of her seven shutouts in a 1-0 victory at Ursinus, and preserving a tie in a home match against Gettysburg with several acrobatic saves.
The Conference coaches selected Colombo (Arcadia, Calif. / Arcadia), a forward, for the second consecutive year. She provided the Garnet with numerous scoring opportunities ranking fifth in the Conference in shots-per-game (3.12), and ninth in points per game (0.94). The sophomore has been the team’s top scorer over the past two years, tallying 13 goals to date. The Conference honored her during the season by placing her on the Honor Roll October 27, and naming her Offensive Player of the Week September 22 after scoring twice in a victory against top-ranked College of New Jersey. The victory was the program’s first-ever win over a ranked opponent and the first time a Centennial squad has beaten the number-one team in the country.
Bolger (Centerport, N.Y. / Harborfields), a defender, started all 17 games for the Garnet helping the vaunted defense rack up 10 shutouts on the season. She also chipped in offensively, scoring a goal and assisting on another during the season-opening win against Farmingdale prompting a selection to the Swat Kick Classic All-Tournament team and the Conference Weekly Honor Roll. Bolger also earned a spot on the Honor Roll during the week of September 22.