Swarthmore Streaks to 7 Sisters Championship Game
2006 Seven Sisters Lacrosse Championship
3/18: Swarthmore Streaks to 7 Sisters Championship Game
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The Garnet women easily won twice on Saturday afternoon, playing rude host at the 15th annual Seven Sisters Lacrosse Championship.
In the first game, the Garnet jumped all over the Blazers and built an 11-0 halftime lead before cruising to a 14-0 victory. Four Swarthmore played scored a pair of goals--senior Niamh Shortt, juniors Lindsay Roth and Athena Samaras, and freshman Anna de Regt, who also caused four turnovers. Swarthmore's solid defense kept the pressure off of sophomore goaltender Susannah Blair, who had to make just four saves to earn her second career shutout.
Elms senior netminder Shelia Murphy made a tournament-high 17 saves in the losing effort.
The second round game brought in No. 2 seed and long-time rival Haverford College. With a sizable group of Garnet fans drawn to Clothier Stadium for the guaranteed excitement of a Swarthmore-Haverford matchup, the home team controlled the first half of play and rolled to a 13-5 triumph. Junior Lindsay Roth led the Garnet offense, picking up a first-half hat trick.
Swarthmore won nearly every draw, keeping the ball away from the Ford sticks, and ran up a 8-0 lead before the break. The hosts continued to pour it on and led 12-0 before Tripti Tewari got the Fords on the board with 19:10 to play, ending the Garnet and goalkeeper Susannah Blair's 100:50 scoreless streak in the 2006 tournament.
Haverford, playing without injured star senior Margaret Sampson, would go to score five consecutive goals, including two from freshman Liz Koelmel, before Swarthmore senior Niamh Shortt closed out the scoring.
This is Swarthmore's fourth appearance in the Seven Sisters Championship game. The Garnet won their lone title in 1995.
The host Garnet will face Wellesley, conquerers of top-seed Vassar and No. 4 seed Mount Holyoke, tomorrow in the championship game at 1:00 p.m. on Clothier Field, while the Fords will face Mount Holyoke on the same field at 11:00 a.m. for third place.