Garnet Field Hockey Tripped Up By Gwynedd-Mercy 4-2
GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. - Despite continued production from the ever-more-relevant freshman class, the Swarthmore Garnet field hockey team (5-7, 2-2) could not sufficiently capitalize on ample scoring chances as it fell 4-2 to the Gwynedd-Mercy Griffins (8-5) on Sunday afternoon .
Freshman Nia Jones scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season in the 51st minute, while fellow freshman Aarti Rao also scored in the 60th minute. This marks second-consecutive game that Jones and Rao have accounted for all of the Garnet's scoring.
Rao scored the Garnet's second goal in the 60th minute.
Unlike Saturday’s game, where the Swarthmore sticks were kept quiet until the second half, the Garnet came out shooting today, collecting eight shots through the first 35 minutes of play. Unfortunately, none of these shots found the back of the net, and, thanks to Griffins forwards Kate Johnson and Casey Dellostretto, Swarthmore found itself looking at a 2-0 deficit as the first half came to a close.
The offense again began to find its groove in the second half, outshooting Gwynedd-Mercy by a 9-7 margin and scoring twice on freshman Jones’ team-leading seventh goal of the season and freshman Rao’s third of the year. However, Gwynedd-Mercy freshman Maria Karidas scored twice in the half to ultimately put the game away for the Griffins.
The Garnet still continues to look much improved this season, as only an exceptional effort from Gwynedd-Mercy goalkeeper Kaylin Bassett, who faced 17 shots and recorded 10 saves in 70 minutes in goal, kept the Swarthmore squad from evening its record at 6-6 and equaling its highest win total since 2007.
In goal for Swat, senior Katie Ashmore made four saves.
Swarthmore will attempt to get back in the win column and jockey for Centennial Conference playoff position when it returns home to face Muhlenberg on Wednesday. Play is slated to begin at 4 pm.