Garnet Soccer Lined Up for Success
The old adage states that competition breeds success, and the Garnet women's soccer team has upped the ante in 2008, scheduling matches with six teams that participated in the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships with the goal of making the program's first appearance on the national stage.
The 2008 schedule includes four home games at the onset, starting with the Swat Kick Classic on Aug. 30-31 featuring contests against Farmingdale State College, the 2007 Skyline Conference Champions, and Moravian, a 15-6-1 team that earned an NCAA bid last season. A mid-September trip to the third-ranked College of New Jersey, national semifinalists each of the last three seasons, serves as an early benchmark as to how far the 2008 Garnet can go. The Centennial portion opens with road games at Dickinson, three-time defending champion Johns Hopkins and Washington. A stretch run swings in favor of the Garnet, with five home games rounding out October. Sandwiched in there, Swarthmore will head to California for a match with the University of Redlands on October 13, a nice opportunity for the vast West Coast fan contingent to see the team play.
You'll be hard pressed to find two more competitive women in the Centennial Conference than Swarthmore senior soccer players Cait Mullarkey (Wilmington, Del. / Ursuline Academy) and Lauren Walker (Fallston, Md. / The Hotchkiss School [CT]), the two focal pieces in the Garnet ascent to the top of the Conference. The duo directed the Swarthmore defense for the past three seasons, resulting in consecutive Centennial playoff appearances and the 2007 Eastern Collegiate Athletics Conference (ECAC) Division III Southern Region Championship (the program's first). The team has set their sights higher in 2008, seeking a Conference championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Conference coaches agree Swarthmore is in a good position to do just that, voting the squad second in the annual pre-season poll (the Garnet received 82 points, including two first-place votes).
Mullarkey, a two-time All-Region defender, started all 19 games in 2007 on a Garnet team that set four Centennial records (including 13 shutouts) and finished third in Division III with a 0.301 goals-against average. For the third consecutive year, Mullarkey was an All-Centennial first-team selectionshe is the first Swarthmore soccer player (only fourth defender in Centennial history) to accomplish the featand was named Most Outstanding Player at the E.C.A.C. Southern Championship. Mullarkey's motor constantly runs in top gear; she was the indoor 800-meter champion in 2007, collected a bronze in the steeplechase (she is the school record holder) at the 2008 Conference outdoor championships and posted an NCAA provisional time in the outdoor 800 this past spring.
Walker established herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the country with a stellar 2007 campaign. Walker, a calming balance in comparison to the vocal Mullarkey, ranked second in all of Division III in goals-against average (a Centennial-record 0.27) and save percentage (.915). Walker made 19 starts, posting a 14-2-3 record while leading the Centennial in goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts per game (0.53). She received her second All-Centennial selection, a first-team nod after tying the Conference record for solo shutouts (10). The athletic senior was also named to the D3Kicks.com All-America third team, a site compiled by Sports Information Directors from around the country. Winning follows Walker wherever she goes; the senior captained the Swarthmore softball team to its first appearance in the E.C.A.C. Championships this past spring.
Garnet fourth-year head coach Todd Anckaitis and his staff see talented players at all spots on the field, especially along the stout defensive line. Senior Alexa Bensimhon (Allentown, Pa. / Moravian Academy) is back from injury that sidelined her in 2007, junior Eileen Earl (Redmond, Wash. / Inglemoor) has made 30 starts in two seasons and a pair of sophomores, Sarah Reece (Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Mira Costa) and Laura Bolger (Centerport, N.Y. / Harborfields), started every game as first-years in 2007. Sophomores Elizabeth Mills (San Diego, Calif. / The Bishop's School) and Zoe Hendrickson (Strafford, N.H. / Coe-Brown Northwood Academy) provide steady play off the bench.
The midfield boasts several talented veterans as well, led by two-time All-Centennial junior Maggie DeLorme (Lusby, Md. / Patuxent). DeLorme is unmatched in the Conference when it comes to playing the ball in the air, using her leaping ability to win an overwhelming majority of head balls. In two seasons, DeLorme has seven assists and scored the game-winner in Swarthmore's first-ever Centennial playoff win in 2006. Joining DeLorme will be classmate Julia Luongo (Tallahassee, Fla. / Leon), a crafty player (eight assists in two seasons) and dynamic sophomore Kirsten Peterson (Fenton, Mich. / Fenton), the team leader with eight assists in 2007. Making team depth one of the team's strengths will be junior Monica Cody (Torrance, Calif. / Torrance) who registered five points in 2007 and speedy sophomore Hannah Purkey (Palo Alto, Calif. / Palo Alto), owner of three goals last season. Additional midfield support will come from senior Melinda Petre (Clarksville, Md. / Atholton) and junior Taylor Rhodes (Redlands, Calif. / Redlands East Valley).
The Garnet lost only two seniors to graduation and return a pair of sophomores, Megan Colombo (Arcadia, Calif. / Arcadia) and Kelsey Cline (Stanwood, Wash. / Stanwood) who came through with dazzling freshman campaigns, leading the Swarthmore offense to its highest goal output in years (38 goals fourth in the Centennial). Colombo's acceleration on the field led her into the headlines last year, team-leader with nine goals and recipient of a pair of accolades: first-team All-Centennial and third-team All-Region. The highlight of the season for Colombo came on October 18 when the California native tallied her first career hat trick in a 4-0 win over Ursinus. Cline scored the game-winner in her first collegiate game, a 1-0 victory over Catholic, and went on to tally 20 points on the season (eight goals, four assists). Classmates Amy Vachal (Somerset, N.J. / Rutgers Prep) and Amy Langdon (Indianapolis, Ind. / Lawrence North) have the capability to score off the bench, furthering strengthening the depth of the squad.
A 3-13-3 team just three seasons ago, Anckaitis and his staff quickly resurrected Swarthmore women's soccer to 29 wins in the past two seasons, including consecutive appearances in the Conference playoffs and the ECAC post-season tournament. Anckaitis now looks to mold the talented veterans with a new group of first-years as the Garnet make a run at the Conference Championship.
To read more about the first-year players, click here.