SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Swarthmore College field hockey team dropped a 2-0 defensive showdown against No. 17 Haverford College in the first round of the Centennial Tournament on Tuesday night. 

The Garnet defense held the Fords to three shots, but allowed a pair of costly goals in the second and fourth quarters, respectively. Swarthmore outshot its opponent 5-3 with an 8-5 edge in penalty corners.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Defense dominated a scoreless opening quarter, preventing any significant scoring opportunities from either side. Both squads were held without a shot, despite a 3-0 corner advantage for the Fords. The Garnet defense held strong, allowing nothing to reach their goaltender. 

- Early in the second, the Garnet were unable to escape trouble after Haverford created chaos in front of the cage. The Fords caught the Garnet in a mad scramble to sneak the game's first goal past the defense. Zoe Larsen denied the first of two Haverford shots with a defensive save, but the Fords were able to hammer the rebound home. Liza Semenenko fired off the team's lone shot after the Garnet worked hard for a penalty corner, but the attempt rocketed just wide of the cage. The rookie also had a potential goal waved off earlier in the quarter. 

- Swarthmore earned a pair of penalty corners to open the third quarter, but were unable to even the score. Later in the stanza, Hayley Harris registered a shot-on-goal off another corner, but was turned away. Swarthmore caught a break when Haverford had a goal waved off in the quarter after illegally kicking the ball into the cage, but were held in check with another shotless quarter. 

- The Fords scored a back-breaking insurance tally in the 47th minute to take a 2-0 lead. With their season on the line, the Garnet pulled their goaltender with eight minutes left and turned up the intensity on the offensive end. Swarthmore controlled possession, tallying a 4-1 corner advantage in the final quarter, but only registered two shots. Semenenko played one shot high, while Larsen sent another attempt wide. 

GARNET LEADERS
Shots: Semenenko 3
Defensive Saves: Larsen 1