SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The No. 15 Swarthmore College field hockey team made history on Wednesday night, recording its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory with a 4-0 shutout of No. 20 University of Scranton at a packed Clothier Field Stadium.
The Garnet move on to the second round on Saturday, November 14 at Tufts University. Swarthmore will battle the top-ranked Jumbos, who are the defending national champion, in the Round of 16.
Hannah Ulrich opened the scoring in the first quarter and the Garnet pulled away in the second half with goals by
Kayla Fink,
Magdelana Jordan, and
Julia Powell. Ulrich added two assists to finish with a four-point night.
Josie Sarno made two saves to record her eighth shutout.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore scored on the first shot of the contest, which came off a penalty corner in the fifth minute. Powell inserted and the ball made its way to
Sophie Wilchek. Wilchek sent the ball towards the cage and Ulrich was there in front to deflect it in for a 1-0 lead. The Garnet defense conceded just one shot in the opening quarter and it went wide of the target.
- The Royals tallied three shots in the second but all the attempts missed the net as Swarthmore maintained the advantage. The Scranton goalkeeper made a stop in the 19
th minute and the Garnet nearly went up two in the 23
rd minute with
EmmaKate Derrick's offering being thwarted by a defensive save.
- Swarthmore continued to pressure in the third, registering six shots in the period while allowing just one. Sarno made her first save of the night in the 39
th minute and Fink beat the goalie at the 44-minute mark to make it a two-goal game. Ulrich sent a pass from the left side through traffic and Fink got her stick on it, trickling a shot in past the defense.
- Ulrich set up another tally just 39 seconds into the fourth to up the cushion to three. Ulrich connected with Jordan on a pass into the scoring area. Jordan settled, wheeled around, and fired into the cage.
- Powell netted the final goal of the evening in the 52
nd minute.
Anna Schwartz was stopped by the goalkeeper initially but corralled the rebound. She then dribbled down towards the end line before centering to the net front. Powell was there to knock in the pass and put an exclamation point on the historic win. Sarno produced her second save of the game a minute later to put a bow on the shutout.
GARNET LEADERS
Goals: Four players 1
Assists: Ulrich 2
Shots: Fink, Jordan 3
Saves: Sarno 2
UP NEXT
The Garnet (13-7) face Tufts on Saturday at 11 a.m.
