Garnet Lose in Heartbreaking Fashion, Fall to Dickinson on Penalty Kicks
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Centennial Conference playoff run for the Swarthmore College women's soccer team (13-4-1) ended in heartbreaking fashion as No. 5 seed Dickinson (14-3-1) advanced past the No. 4 seed Garnet 5-4 on penalty kicks Wednesday evening from Clothier Field Stadium. Tied 1-1 after 110 minutes, the Red Devils and Garnet saw the first nine shots of the penalty kick shootout find the back of the net until Swarthmore senior Julia Luongo's shot was stopped by a fantastic save from Dickinson goalkeeper Kailyn Hartmann on the 10th and final shot to end the game.
Cline found the back of the net in the 29th minute
Junior Kelsey Cline scored in the 29th minute to give the Garnet the early 1-0 lead that almost held up. Sophomore Marie Mutryn was outstanding in net for the Garnet, making 12 saves, while senior Eileen Earl and junior Laura Bolger led a backline that held the high-powered Red Devil offense to just one goal in 110 minutes.
A well-played and highly entertaining game - including a wild second overtime in which both the teams had point-blank scoring chances in the final minutes - saw the Garnet take an early 1-0 lead, only to have the Red Devils equal the score in the final 10 minutes of regulation, sending the 1-1 game into overtime.
After surviving an early attack from the Red Devil offense - which held a 13-6 edge in shots-on-goal for the game- in the first hald, Cline lit up the scoreboard and put the Clothier Field crowd into a frenzy. In the 29th minute, junior Hannah Purkey got it started, creating a 2-on-1 attack and then feeding the ball to Cline on the right wing. She rocketed the ball into the upper-right corner to give Swat the 1-0 lead.
Thanks to a bend-but-not-break defense and Mutryn between the pipes, that 1-0 lead held all the way until the 81st minute. With the clock ticking, Dickinson's Ashley Kunkle took a ball in the box off a broken play, flicked it high into the far post, just over the outstretched arms of Mutryn to tie the game 1-1.
Two wild overtimes saw each team with plenty of scoring chances, but no one could cash in. The best chances may have come in the final moments of the second overtime. Dickinson appeared to win the game with a header from Sarah Montminy in the 109th minute, but the goal was called off thanks to an offside penalty. Then with the just :15 seconds left in overtime, senior Taylor Rhodes' shot from the top of the box beat the goalkeeper but hit the left post, sending the game into penalty kicks.
Dickinson advances to Saturday's semifinal against Muhlenberg at 1:00 p.m. The Garnet - the two-time ECAC Champions - will now await word for its next game.