Franklin & Marshall Rallies to Defeat Field Hockey 4-2 on Senior Day
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - It was a bittersweet ending to the Swarthmore College field hockey team's home season, as Franklin & Marshall - needing a win to make the Centennial Conference playoffs - rallied for three goals in the second half to defeat the Garnet 4-2 on Saturday afternoon from Clothier Field Stadium. Freshman Sophia Agathis and junior captain Sophia Ferguson scored first-half goals while senior Gina Grubb made it a Senior Day to remember by recording a career-high 17 saves.
Agathis tied the game with a goal in the final seconds.
After conceding the early goal to the visiting Diplomats, the Garnet responded with a two -goal attack within a two-minute span - both set-up on penalty corners - sending the Senior Day crowd at Clothier Field into a frenzy. First it was Agathis in the 16th minute. She took the input from junior Sara McCabe at the top of the circle, had the ball stolen by an F&M defender, muscled the ball back before firing a long-distance shot past the keeper, tying the game 1-1. Just 83 seconds later off another penalty corner, Ferguson scored, with an assist from Catie Meador, to give the Garnet a 2-1 lead.
That lead would hold up until the second half, when with the season on the line, the Diplomats responded with three goals for the victory. F &M's Becky Willert scored her second goal of the day just seven minutes into the second half to tie the game 2-2. F &M's Chelsey Talhelm would then net the game-winner in the 51st minute, with F&M tacking on one more goal in the 62nd minute, bringing the score to the 4-2 final.
The Garnet (5-12, 1-8) conclude the season with a trip to Gettysburg tomorrow afternoon. Action is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.