Women’s Lacrosse: Garnet Rope in Ramblers on Senior Night
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Swarthmore took an early lead and pulled away with a second-half surge, winning a 17-6 nonconference game over Rosemont on Tuesday evening. With the victory, Swarthmore's 14th of the season, the 2006 squad now owns the school record for wins in a season. Freshman midfielder Anna de Regt tied her career high with five goals to lead the offensive attack.
Before the game, the Garnet took time to celebrate the accomplishments of five seniors, Heidi Fieselmann, Chloe Lewis, Niamh Shortt, Cara Tigue, and Christina Vu. All five amassed impressive career statistics while leading the 2006 team to a team record for wins and its first-ever Centennial Conference playoff berth.
Once the game started, the Garnet quickly took command. Sophomore midfielder Megan Sanborn kicked the scoring off before Shortt scored consecutive goals. Fieselmann, de Regt, and defender Melissa Grigsby '09 all scored before Nikkia Bright got Rosemont on the board 20:04 into the contest, cutting the Swarthmore lead to 6-1.
The Ramblers added a second goal four minutes later, but Swarthmore head coach Karen Borbee used a timeout to settle the troops and Swarthmore scored two of the final three goals of the half (Fieselmann, Sanborn) to take an 8-3 lead into the break.
De Regt opened the second-half scoring by converting a free position attempt with 3:31 gone by. Swarthmore would go on to score eight more unanswered goals, including four during the ninth minute.
Shortt scored Swarthmore's final goal, completing the hat trick with 11:39 to play to increase the Garnet lead to 17-3. Rosemont (6-10) scored three times on the Garnet reserves in the final ten minutes of play.
The crowd began to thin as the weather turned cold and windy, but all five seniors exited the game to waves of warm applause.
Junior Katie Crawford notched a second-half goal to maintain a one-goal lead over de Regt (33 to 32) in the team goal-scoring race. The two midfielders are tied for the team lead with 39 points.
Sanborn finished with four points on the evening on a hat trick and an assist, while Fieselmann added a pair of goals. De Regt scooped up a team-high seven ground balls. Sophomore goalkeeper Susannah Blair stopped six shots in net.
The dominant win allows Swarthmore (14-4) to enter tomorrow's Centennial Conference playoff game on a high note. #5 Swarthmore will face #4 Ursinus in an opening-round game in Collegeville, PA at 5:00 p.m. The Bears won last Saturday's matchup with the Garnet, 17-9.