SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Sarah Hancock scored her second goal of the season in the 41st minute as the 10th-ranked Swarthmore College women's soccer team (18-2-1) shut out Catholic (17-3) by a 1-0 score on Sunday, Nov. 15 to advance to the sectional round of the NCAA Tournament.

Reba Magier recorded her ninth shutout of the year after making eight saves between the pipes, including a sprawling rejection of a Catholic free kick toward the right post in the sixth minute of the contest.

Swarthmore answered with a string of corner kicks that it earned after a dangerous ball from senior Melissa Trofa to freshman Marin McCoy was sent out desperately by a Cardinal defender. Senior back Amanda Bosworth sent two shots toward net on the end of the corner, but both were blocked by Catholic.

On the other end, Magier registered her second save of the evening at 11:09 by parrying a chipped ball from Lindsay Aleman, Catholic's leading scorer. The Garnet controlled much of the ensuing play in the first half and earned another opportunity around the 19th minute when a lobbed ball from McCoy to a running Hannah Lichtenstein was just a bit too far ahead for the forward.

Another pair of corner kicks yielded promising shots from Bosworth, but Catholic keeper Lexi Halperin did her best to keep the Garnet off the scoreboard by punching the ball away from danger.

Halperin was again called into service at 32:19 and stopped a point-blank, breakaway shot from Claire O'Brien as the game remained scoreless. The Cardinal goalie thwarted another run by O'Brien in the 40th minute, but the mounting pressure from the Garnet led to a breakthrough at 40:08. Catholic failed to clear a corner kick and a loose ball fell to junior Mele Johnson on the right wing. Johnson fed a ball to Caroline Khanna who tipped the ball to Hancock for a well-struck finish past Halperin on the left post.

Johnson sent in another dangerous cross in the box during the waning minutes of the half, though Catholic secured a clearance to enter the break with a one-goal deficit.

Swarthmore continued on the offensive in the second period and narrowly missed out on a second goal in the 59th minute when a scramble in front of the net on a corner yielded close-range shots by Lichtenstein and Katie Dougherty.

Magier came up big in the later part of the second, stepping up to corral a threatening through ball in the 76th minute and recording three tough saves, including one from close range, in the final 90 seconds as Swarthmore held on for the win.

The Garnet will face the Hardin Simmons Cowgirls next weekend for a spot among the tournament's final eight teams. The time and location of the match are yet to be determined.