SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Avery Bloom scored the game-winner with 3:27 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the No. 18 Swarthmore College field hockey team a 3-2 win over No. 21 Franklin and Marshall College in the semifinals of the Centennial Conference Tournament on Thursday night.
Bloom's tally sends the Garnet to the Centennial Championship for the first time since 2000. Swarthmore, the second seed, will travel to the top seed, Johns Hopkins University, for the title game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The thrilling contest saw the third-seeded Diplomats strike first on a penalty stroke in the first quarter.
Katherine Kohn came back with a pair of goals for the Garnet as they took the lead late in the third. F&M evened the score over three minutes into the final period, setting the stage for Bloom's heroics.
Swarthmore dominated stretches of the game, finishing with a 17-9 advantage in shots, including 11-8 in shots on goal. The Garnet held the Diplomats without a shot in the second quarter. Swarthmore also won the penalty corners count, 8-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Garnet had their first penalty corner in the second minute and controlled the ball for the next three minutes, getting off three shots. Two of the chances were saved and the third was blocked by the defense.
- F&M was awarded its first corner chance in the eighth minute and a foul was called on the ensuing play, resulting in a penalty stroke for the Diplomats. They capitalized and took a 1-0 lead at the 8:01 mark.
- Swarthmore owned the second stanza and scored the equalizer in the 18
th minute.
Magdelana Jordan took a shot that deflected off a defender then was kicked away by the goalie. The rebound went right to
Katherine Kohn, who hit the back of the cage to make it 1-1. The Garnet outshot F&M, 7-0, in the quarter and posted a 2-0 edge in penalty corners but the score remained tied at the intermission.
- Swarthmore continued to have the better of play in the third and the effort paid dividends in the 44
th minute.
Emma Duffield sent the ball in from outside the arc. The goalkeeper intended to let the ball harmlessly roll by but it bounced off the right post and back in front.
Sophia Hitchingham got a shot off that was saved but the rebound went to Kohn again and she deposited her second of the night to give the Garnet a 2-1 lead.
- The Diplomats were able to net the game-tying goal in the 49
th minute on a deflection in front. F&M nearly went in front in the 52
nd minute. The Diplomats dribbled down the field and got a pass through the Swarthmore defense to an F&M attacker. The forward immediately turned and fired but
Cassandra Conklin came up with her biggest save of the evening, kicking it away with her pad and keeping the game level.
- Late in regulation, the Garnet earned a penalty corner.
Anna Stancofski sent the ball up to Jordan, who passed to
Jackie Crowley on her left at the top of the arc. Crowley sent the ball towards the cage. It bounced off a couple of sticks and wound up at the left post, where Stancofski was able to muscle it through a defender to Bloom at the goal line. Bloom got her stick on it before the defense and tapped it in to put Swarthmore ahead for good. It was her first career goal.
- The Diplomats got off one final shot in the closing minutes. The offer was deflected up by a defender's stick but Conklin batted it down with her blocker hand to maintain the advantage.
GARNET LEADERS
Goals: Kohn 2
Assists: Stancofski 1
Shots: Kohn 6
Shots on Goal: Kohn 4
Saves: Conklin 6
UP NEXT
The Garnet (13-5) look to claim their first Centennial title since 1997 on Saturday at Johns Hopkins.
