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Soccer women at top of game

BY JESSICA HAMILTON

In print | October 5, 2006

The women’s soccer team continued its best start in school history this past Saturday against Washington College. The Tide played a great game despite many injuries plaguing its players, defeating the Shorewomen by a final score of 4-1.

The Garnet walked onto the field with unfaltering determination and drive, dominating Washington early on. Only eight minutes into the game, Natalie Negrey ‘07 landed a shot in the net, giving Swarthmore a 1-0 lead early on. Maggie DeLorme ’10 also planted a nice goal, but the referee retracted the goal, calling Katie Kanuka ’10 offsides though she wasn’t involved in the play. With the score still 1-0, the Tide soared on the belief that it was going to be an easy game. Taking advantage of the Garnet’s overconfident defense, the Shorewomen got one past goalkeeper Anna de Regt ’09, tying the score at 1-1.

“The defense got a bit disorganized in the first half, but we pulled it together,” Alexa Bensimhon ’09 said. “We ultimately left Washington College with no reason to think they could beat us.”

With only five minutes left, Kanuka got a nice foot on the ball and put it in the back of the net, making the score 2-1 at the half.

“It was a clutch goal,” Bensimhon said. “If we entered the second half with a 1-1 score, the game could’ve gone either way.”

The Tide cleaned up in the second half, dominating the Shorewomen for the rest of the game and outshooting them 17-0. Less than 10 minutes into the half, Danielle Tocchet ’08 scored her first goal of the season with a beautiful shot from a difficult angle. The score stayed at 3-1 until five minutes remained in the game, when Negrey had her second unassisted goal of the game. The game ended with a 4-1 victory for the Garnet.

“We played everybody in the second half,” head coach Todd Anckaitis said. “You couldn’t tell the difference between the subs and regulars.”

Despite their continuous success, behind the scenes things haven’t been easy for the Tide. With injuries down the roster, players are coming in and moving around the field to fill in positions.

“We’ve had so many people hurt, but when it comes to game days we pull it together,” captain Kristen Traband ‘08 said. "The people who don’t usually play very much are stepping up when we need them to. Every single person on the team has made a significant contribution to our success, and that’s why we’re winning."

Liz Lopez ’10 entered the game with resolve and ran the midfield. The team named her Player of the Game after the match because of her hard work throughout.

“It’s good we’re still able to perform at a high level,” Anckaitis said. “But as a coach, I can’t wait for the players to get healthy so we can get back into the core rotation.”

As of yesterday, Swarthmore was ranked 23rd nationally Web site http://www.d3kicks.com.

Last night, the Garnet (7-2-1, 3-2) battled Ursinus on Clothier Field and lost 1-0. On Saturday night, the Tide will travel to Baltimore to play another conference opponent, undefeated Johns Hopkins.

“We’ll test that depth if players are not healthy, and see how we do outside the norm,” Anckaitis said. “We’ve responded well so far, but I anticipate good games.”

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