CLEVELAND - The No. 13 Swarthmore College women's soccer team pulled off an electric comeback victory over Bridgewater College, 4-2, in its return to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening. The Garnet overcame an early 2-0 deficit to rattle off four-unanswered goals, which included three-straight from
Charlotte Carleton. The junior attempted three shots on the evening, with all three attempts finding the back of the net.
Swarthmore completely flipped the script on the Eagles after falling behind 2-0 in the opening minutes. Carleton ignited the Garnet offense with three goals to tally her first career hat trick. Macie Mangini also joined the scoring with an insurance goal in the 70th minute.
Bridgewater attempted the first seven shots, including two goals in the opening 15-minutes of action. Carleton eventually settled down the Garnet with the team's first shot and goal in the 21st minute, which sparked a stretch of four-unanswered to close the game. Swarthmore outshot their opponent 21-7 after allowing the opening two scores.
The Garnet will advance to this weekend's finale to battle the host No. 6 Case Western Reserve tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Bridgewater got out to an early lead, benefiting from consecutive corner attempts in the third and fourth minutes. Swarthmore deflected away the first attempt, but succumbed to an Eagles goal on the second corner.
- Dahlia Bedward made a couple high-leverage saves, while the defense stepped up to keep the offense in the game. Despite some key defensive stops from the Garnet, they were unable to escape an early onslaught from the Eagles. Bridgewater eventually broke through with their second-unanswered goal, increasing their lead to 2-0 in the 16th minute.
- In desperate need of some momentum, Carleton answered the call in the 21st minute. The junior instantly changed the course of the game with an unassisted tally to light a spark under her squad.
- The Garnet were held to just one goal in the opening half, but wore down the Eagles defense in the final 25-minutes of the stanza. Following Carleton's score, Liesel Blau forced the keeper to make a save. Lauren Lior and Sydney Ross were then turned away on quality attempts, while Ava Gizzie fired a couple strikes wide to end the opening half.
- Swarthmore's persistent attack paid dividends early in the second. Carleton wasted no time scoring the game-tying and then go-ahead scores in the 52nd and 54th minutes, respectively. Celia Kanellakos assisted the tying score, while Jordan Vrees helped put the team in front with an assist on the winner.
- Action remained tilted towards the Garnet attack as they sustained a relentless rush against the Eagles. Gizzie created several scoring chances, as they commanded attention from Bridgewater all evening. Mangini eventually gave the Garnet some breathing room with an insurance goal off a corner kick from Haley Lewinski in the 70th minute.
- Bedward stepped up when she was called upon, making a handful of late saves in the second half. The senior ended the night with six saves, and battled through the opening minutes as the Garnet worked their way out of some early struggles.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Carleton 6
Goals: Carleton 3
Assists: Kanellakos, Vrees, Lewinski 1
Shots: Gizzie 6
Saves: Bedward 6
UP NEXT
The Garnet (15-3-3) look to advance past this weekend with a nationally-ranked showdown at No. 6 Case Western Reserve on Sunday evening.
