Garnet Tame Cougars in ECAC Southern Quarterfinals
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The Swarthmore women's soccer team tied its best offensive output of the season, rolling past visiting Misericordia 4-0 in quarterfinal action of the 2007 ECAC Division III Southern Region Championship on a chilly Wednesday night at Clothier Field.
The Garnet improved to 13-2-2 overall and advance on to semifinal action in Grove City, Pa. on Nov. 10-11. Swarthmore, the third-seed, will play No. 2 seed Frostburg State (a 1-0 winner over Carnegie Mellon) at 2:00 p.m. on the campus of Grove City College this Saturday, Nov. 10. The other semifinal will feature top-seed Grove City (a 3-2 victor over Juniata) versus No. 5 Catholic, who upset No. 4 Widener 3-2.
Swarthmore jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute when All-Centennial freshman Megan Colombo (Arcadia, Calif. / Arcadia) scored her team-leading eighth goal. Garnet midfielder Julia Luongo (Tallahassee, Fla. / Leon) sent a ball down the left flank and Colombo out-raced the Cougar defender to the ball. Colombo wheeled back towards the center of the field and bent the ball into the top-left corner at 5:27.
Colombo used her speed to add a second goal at 18:20, chasing down a thru-ball from classmate Kelsey Cline (Camano Island, Wash. / Stanwood). Colombo banked a shot off the left post for her ninth score and a 2-0 Garnet lead.
The Swarthmore offense continued to press the issue getting two more goals before halftime. Sophomore midfielder Monica Cody (Torrance, Calif. / Marymount) scored her first career goal, finishing off a blocked shot by Cline at 20:24. Freshman Hannah Purkey (Palo Alto, Calif. / Palo Alto) capped the first-half with her third goal of the season, finishing a breakaway at 34:57. Sophomore defender Eileen Earl (Redmond, Wash. / Inglemoor) assisted on the play.
The Garnet out-shot the Cougars 9-4, with the corners standing at two apiece.
Swarthmore junior net-minder Lauren Walker (Fallston, Md. / The Hotchkiss School) and senior goalkeeper Kristen Traband (Swarthmore, Pa. / Ridley) split time, each making two saves. Traband took over in the second half, making a fingertip save in the 66th minute to preserve the team shutout.
Three goalies saw action for Misericordia (13-9-1), led by freshman Morgan Myers who made six saves in 45 minutes of action.
Swarthmore held a decisive 21-7 shot advantage and attempted five corners to the Cougars’ two. The four first-half goals is the most scored in half by the Garnet this season and equals the most scored in a game (Ursinus and Washington).
This is the second post-season win in as many seasons for Swarthmore and their second consecutive appearance in the ECAC semifinals. The Garnet fell to FDU-Florham 3-0 at Westminster College in the 2006 ECAC semifinals.