Garnet Clip Aggies, Remain Unbeaten
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Swarthmore got goals from freshmen Julia Luongo and Katie Kanuka plus another strong defensive effort on their way to a 2-0 win over non-conference foe Delaware Valley on a warm evening at Clothier Stadium.
For the second straight game, the Garnet went with a goalie-by-committee in place of injured sophomore Lauren Walker, with junior Kristen Traband playing the first half and sophomore Anna de Regt the second. The pair, along with the Garnet backline, extended the team's scoreless streak to 393:31.
Luongo flashed a powerful leg while opening the scoring just 8:53 into the match. Luongo received the ball with space around her about 30 yards away from the net, wound up, and blasted the ball over the head of Aggie goalkeeper Emily Joyce and into the net. The shot was of a caliber rarely seen in any game of soccer.
Luongo found her way into the box sore once again in the 25th minute, when she hit a square ball to Kanuka, who lofted the ball into the upper left corner from about 20 yards out. Kanuka now has a Centennial Conference-high seven goals on the season.
The Garnet continued the offensive attack throughout the half but was repeatedly stymied by Joyce, who made four stops in the half - all of them with a degree of difficulty. Kanuka saw one of her shots tipped over the net and another pushed just wide of the net, and senior Natalie Negrey was also denied at close range. Traband made a pair of saves to preserve the 2-0 lead going into the break.
Both teams had trouble generating offense in the second half; while Swarthmore took 13 shots and forced Joyce to make fives saves, the quality of the opportunities was not as strong as in the first half. But it did not matter as the Garnet clamped down on defense, limiting the Aggies to just one shot; de Regt did not have to make a save.
Swarthmore (5-0-1) will put its undefeated season on the line once again on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at CC foe Gettysburg.