Kanuka, Garnet Defense Turn Up Win in Lancaster
LANCASTER, Pa. - Swarthmore (4-0-1, 1-0 CC) faced off against the F&M Diplomats (5-1, 0-1 CC) Saturday afternoon with both entering the competition undefeated. The Garnet went on to trump the Diplomats 2-0 led by a pair of scores from freshman forward Katie Kanuka and a combined shut-out by goalkeepers Kristen Traband '08 and Anna de Regt '09.
F&M held a ten-game win streak over the Garnet from 1993-2002 - since then Swarthmore has held the upper hand, winning three of the last four match-ups.
A strong defensive battle materialized with F&M's senior goalkeeper Robyn Jones able to turn away 12 of the 13 shots sent her way prior, but Swarthmore's offense proved too much as the Garnet converted two of their six shots into goals.
The Diplomats brought on the pressure early in the game, yet Garnet senior forward Natalie Negrey found her way to the corner and delivering a handful of strong shots that left Swarthmore leading the shot category (3-2) at half-time.
Thirty-five minutes into play the match remained scoreless, but with less than 10 minutes in the half Swarthmore freshman midfielder Monica Cody fed classmate Kanuka a brilliant pass. Kanuka dribbled up left field, past the last defender, and drilled the ball to the top right corner to earn her team-leading fifth goal of the season.
In the second half, the Diplomats came out playing hard, their defense almost impenetrable. Despite the strong back line, Kanuka was able to break through. Diplomat keeper Jones challenged Kanuka to a loose ball, and Kanuka won out. While Jones was down, Kanuka saw an opportunity. She launched a shot to an unguarded net, and secured her sixth goal of the season at the 80:46 mark.
Traband made her first start of the season in place of injured sophomore Lauren Walker. The junior captain notched a pair of saves and de Regt continued the strong play in the net with two stops of her own in the second half.
The Garnet's next match will be against Delaware Valley at Clothier Stadium on Tues., Sept. 19 - the game will kick off at 7:00 pm.