Bears Advance Past Garnet In Penalty Kicks
BALTIMORE, Md. -- The Swarthmore and Ursinus women's soccer teams played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer in the semifinal round of the 2007 Centennial Conference Championships, with the second-seeded Bears advancing 5-3 in penalty kicks at Homewood Field on the campus of Johns Hopkins University Saturday evening.
The Bears (11-4-4) will face the two-time defending champion Blue Jays from Johns Hopkins in the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 4:00 p.m. Johns Hopkins advanced to its fourth straight championship game with a 2-0 win over fifth-seed Gettysburg.
Both goalies were tested early on – the Bears’ Nicole Bisinger (Audubon, N.J. / Audubon) sent a free kick towards the top of the Garnet goal, only to have Swarthmore All-Centennial goalkeeper Lauren Walker (Fallston, Md. / The Hotchkiss School) tip the ball over the bar. Swarthmore midfielder Julia Luongo (Tallahassee, Fla. / Leon) put Ursinus net-minder Ashley Potter (East Stroudsburg, Pa. / East Stroudsburg) on the spot, tumbling a shot from 20 yards off the Bears’ crossbar.
The Ursinus attack came close to putting a score on the board in the 44th minute—defender Jessica Hartline (Kinnelon, N.J. / Kinnelon) re-directed a Bear corner kick towards the far corner of the Swarthmore goal. Garnet freshman midfielder Elizabeth Mills (San Diego, Calif. / The Bishop’s School) was in perfect position on the back post, clearing the shot out of harm’s way.
The game remained tied 0-0 into the intermission with the Garnet assuming a 5-2 shot lead.
Swarthmore upped the pressure in the second half, almost scoring in the 76th minute. Freshman defender Sarah Reece (Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Mira Costa) directed a sizzling header at the Bears’ net only to see Potter make a brilliant one-handed save.
The game was scoreless after 90 minutes of play and made it through two 10-minute overtime sessions, putting the ticket to the 2007 Centennial Championship match on the result of penalty kicks.
Ursinus shot first in the shoot-out and converted all five of its penalty kick attempts, earning the right to play in Sunday’s championship match.
Walker registered four saves for her eighth shutout while Potter made 10 saves for the Bears.
Swarthmore stands at 12-2-2 overall and await word of a possible post-season bid to be announced by Monday.