Garnet Improvement Leads Division III
2006 NCAA Division III Most Improved (pdf)
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Swarthmore women's soccer team made 2006 a season to remember, entrenching themselves in the NCAA record books following a nine-game improvement from the 2005 slate of games.
The Garnet posted the best one-season turnaround in Division III in 2006- four schools were tied for second with a 7 ½ improvement: Carleton (Minn.), Manhattanville (N.Y.) and Wilmington (Ohio). Centennial Conference rival Muhlenberg also made a significant upgrade this past season, turning out a 6 ½ game change, tying with six other schools for sixth-best. Swarthmore's enhancement tied for the eighth-best all-time in Division III with Maryville (Mo.), Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.), Nebraska Wesleyan, Simpson (Iowa) and Ohio Wesleyan. Olivet (Mich.) and Rhodes (Tenn.) share the Division III record with a 10 ½ game swing.
Swarthmore completed its best season in program history with a record of 15-5-1 after trudging through a 3-11-3 season in 2005. It is just the third time in the team's 26-year history the Garnet have accumulated a double-digit win total (the last coming in 2002 with a record of 10-9).
The 2006 Garnet set team records for total and Centennial Conference wins, advancing to the finals in their first-ever CC playoff appearance. Swarthmore put a team-record four players on the 2006 All-Centennial team; Kanuka and Cait Mullarkey '09 earned first-team honors while Lauren Walker '09 and Maggie DeLorme '10 were honorable mentions. Both Kanuka and Mullarkey were third-team selections to the NSCAA/adidas All-Mid-Atlantic Region Team and the D3Kicks.com All-Region team.
Mullarkey anchored a strong Garnet back line that tallied a goals-against average of 0.97, the strongest defensive effort since 2001. Mullarkey, a second-year center back, has become a consistent contributor earning first-team All-Centennial honors in her first two years - the first Swarthmore soccer player to ever to accomplish the feat.
Kanuka led the Swarthmore offensive attack, scoring a team-high 17 goals to go along with three assists for 37 points. Kanuka scored more goals than any other player in the Centennial Conference this season, including nine game-winners, another category for which she led the conference. Kanuka was the standout player in a Garnet attack that registered more goals in 2006 (36) than any season in the past six years.
Swarthmore, led by third-year head coach Todd Anckaitis, returns nine starters in 2007 with sights set on the school's first Centennial soccer championship. The Garnet will scrimmage Division-I Lafayette on August 25 and then open up the season on Sept. 1, hosting the 12th annual Swat Kick Classic-Swarthmore will face Catholic at 12:00 p.m. at Clothier Stadium.