Women’s Soccer: 2005 Season Highlights
The 2005 Swarthmore Women's Soccer Team took an important first step in pushing the program to national prominence. A committed group of players along with a new coach started to set the foundation of excellence both on an off the field that future generations will build upon.
This strong first step on the field led to some excellent and exciting soccer including six overtime matches, three double overtime ties, and seven other one goal differential games. The young team's strong play was also recognized by the conference coaches who voted Swat's Caitlin Mullarkey and Danielle Tocchet to All-Conference teams. Mullarkey, a freshman, was named to the first-team while Tocchet received honorable mention.
 In 2005, Caitlin Mullarkey '09 was the first freshman defender to make First Team All-Centennial. |
Mullarkey is the first freshman defender to earn first team honors in the history of the Centennial Conference, and is only the 14th first-year ever to earn the distinction.
Mullarkey spearheaded a Garnet defensive unit that posted four shutouts in 2005 and gave up the fewest goals on a season ever by a Swarthmore team. The freshman got off to a fast start when she was named to the Swarthmore Kick Classic All-Tournament team on September 4th.
Tocchet, a sophomore forward, led the Garnet with eight goals this season, tying for fifth in the Centennial. Tocchet's six goals in conference placed her third among the league's "golden boots" and fifth among overall points leaders. Tocchet was also given two All-tournament nods this season.
Additionally a Swarthmore player was recognized as an All-Centennial Conference Weekly Outstanding Performer eight times.
Off the field the Garnet were also recognized for their excellence with a National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Academic Award. Their 3.32 team GPA is indicative of the focus and priority the team places on maintaining a balance between their academics, athletics, extracurricular activities, and social lives. Five players were also named to the Centennial Conference All-Academic Honor Roll for their strong performances on the field and in the classroom.
The team got off to a good start in non-conference play with a shutout in their first away match and winning their 10 th straight home season opener against a talented Earlham (IN) team. The Garnet defense and goalkeeping core didn't have any problems keeping Earlham's top goal scorer Hillary Carter (19 goals in 2005) and the rest of the Quakers off the board with their second shutout of the season. A win and another shutout at home against Rutgers-Newark and some tough road matches leading up to conference play prepared the Tide for competition in arguably the toughest DIII women's soccer conference in the country. The conference sent three teams to the NCAA tournament this year and three teams to the ECAC post-season invitational tournament. Swarthmore's highlights from conference play included four overtime games in their first seven matches, a 1-1 tie against Gettysburg, the preseason favorite in the Centennial Conference that had beaten a more experienced Tide the year before by six goals, a nailbiting 2-1 loss to John's Hopkins who held a #14 national ranking at the time, and a lopsided victory on Senior Night for the five senior's final home match.
 Lauren Walker '09 placed fourth in the Centennial Conference with a .837 save percentage.. |
The 2005 team and its players finished the season having set or tied three school records including fewest goals allowed in a season. They also finished in the top 3 in a total of ten different statistical categories dating back as far as 1979. In the conference the team finished the season in the top four of five different Team statistical categories and Swat players finished the season in the top four of five different Individual statistical categories.
The future looks bright for Swarthmore Women's Soccer's journey to national prominence as they now have a tested young group that is focused on reaching their goals. With strong interest already in the revived program from some very talented prospective players from all over the country it shouldn't be long before the Swarthmore program is regularly competing for an NCAA berth, individual national honors, and its goal of winning a National Championship while maintaining the proper balance.