Swat Success On Senior Night
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Three Swarthmore women's lacrosse players scored five goals en route to a 21-15 win over visiting Neumann on a windy Tuesday night at Clothier Field.
With the win, Swarthmore finished the 2009 season with an overall record of 9-8 while the Neumann Knights concluded their season with a record of 6-10. Before the game started, Swarthmore honored the success of their seven seniors during the annual Senior Day celebration.
When the game got underway, the Garnet were led by sophomores Emily Evans (Atlanta, Ga. / North Springs) and Amy Vachal (Somerset, N.J. / Rutgers Prep), and senior Marissa Schaffer (Moreland Hill, Ohio / Laurel School), who all notched five goals on the evening. The 21 goals for Swarthmore are the most goals scored in a single game since a 21-8 win over Haverford during the season-finale on April 26, 2001.
Schaffer’s [pictured right] offensive effort tied a single-game high for points (six) and goals that she posted on March 24, 2007 in a game against Cedar Crest. With her first goal, Schaffer passed the 100-point plateau in her career.
Even though the Knights were the first on the board, Swarthmore out shot them 22-17 in the first half.
Evans scored her first goal of the evening with 25:38 on the board to even the score to one goal for each bench.
The Garnet went up one goal following an unassisted goal from freshman midfielder Marie Mutryn (Rexford, N.Y. / Niskayuna) as the score turned to 3-2.
Following a goal by Neumann, the Garnet had three consecutive goals. The first of the three was scored by senior Anna de Regt (Redmond, Wash. / Overlake School) who registered her 100th career by converting a free position opportunity. Mutryn notched her 30th goal of the season off a pass from Schaffer before freshman Annalise Mowry (Alpharetta, Ga. / Milton) assisted on an Evans goal, pushing the score to 6-3.
To make the score 7-4, Vachal [pictured left] stick-checked for a Neumann turnover and was fouled, gaining the advantage and then made a bee-line to the goal, notching her 50th goal of the season with 7:38 left in the half.
Vachal became the first Garnet player to pass the 50-goal mark in a single season since Jackie Kahn ’04, in the 2004 season.
As the score rolled to 8-5 in favor of the Garnet, senior midfielder Annie Carter (Nahant, Mass. / The Putney School) sent a long pass across the arch as Schaffer put one past the Knight goalie. Schaffer the scored her third goal in a row off a long pass over the Neumann defense.
Swarthmore closed the half with a three-goal lead as the scoreboard showed a score of 10-7.
The Knights scored the first goal of the half again but after Vachal finished a good clear for the Garnet, she sent a sailing pass up the field to de Regt who then had a one time pass to Schaffer who put the shot home. After a blocked shot Schaffer scooped up the ball to put home her fourth goal of the evening.
de Regt scored back-to-back goals to register her fifth hat trick of the season pushing the score to 14-7. With 24:37 left in the game de Regt had quick stick pass to Schaffer to compete her fifth point of the game.
Also registering a hat-trick (her ninth on the season) was Evans, who scored back-to-back goals extending the lead to 17-8.
The Knights attempted a four-goal rally but it was stalled as Evans [pictured right] tied her season-best with a fifth goal with 15 minutes remaining in the game. Vachal finished-up a 3-0 run by the Garnet earning back-to-back goals.
At 5:15, Carter scored the final Swarthmore goal off a free-position shot.
Neumann capped the game off by scoring two final goals making the score 21-15 in favor of the home team.
The Swarthmore defense was led by senior defender Melissa Grigsby (West Chester, Pa. / West Chester East) who won seven draw controls and collected six ground balls while causing three turnovers.
Swarthmore sophomore Jean Dahlquist (Wauwatosa, Wis. / Milwaukee Arts) earned her first win of the season stopping four shots during 30 minutes in the net. Junior Allison Grein (Floral Park, N.Y. / Floral Park) subbed in during the second half to earn seven saves.