SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Swarthmore College women's lacrosse team dominated the first half and rolled to a historic 16-7 victory over Washington College in the opening round of the Centennial Conference Tournament on Wednesday night.
The Garnet came out on top in their first home playoff contest in program history. It was also Swarthmore's first postseason triumph since the 2012 season. The fourth-seeded Garnet advance to the semifinals, where they will face top-seeded Haverford College on Friday.
Swarthmore outscored the Shorewomen 9-1 over the first 30 minutes to take a commanding lead. Washington tried to rally with six goals in the second half but never came closer than seven goals away from the Garnet.
Annabel Stifler led the Swarthmore attack, posting career highs of seven goals and eight points.
Claire Long potted four goals while
Aubree Daugherty notched two goals and one assist.
Kate Fox found the back of the net twice and recorded seven draw controls.
Brooke Carrier made several key stops in the cage, finishing with 11 saves on the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Long and Stifler started the scoring with back-to-back tallies less than a minute apart before Washington got on the board to make it 2-1 with 10:11 left in the first. The Garnet then took over and pulled away with seven consecutive goals to close the half. Stifler netted four of the markers with Fox, Long, and Daugherty registering one goal each. Carrier made seven saves during the half to limit the Shorewomen offense and allow Swarthmore to build its advantage.
- Stifler potted her sixth of the evening to open the third quarter and end the Garnet's 8-0 run. Washington ended its scoring drought with two straight goals at 12:08 and 11:31. However, Swarthmore took back the momentum with three in a row by Long,
Carly Rodrigues-Reilly, and Stifler and led 13-3 with 7:25 remaining in the period.
- The Shorewomen scored the final goal of the third to trail 13-4 entering the fourth. The Garnet held the visitors in check during the last frame, as each team netted three goals.
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Stifler 8
Goals: Stifler 7
Assists: Three players 1
Ground Balls:
Gillian Will,
Amanda Morris 4
Caused Turnovers: Will 3
Draw Controls: Fox 7
Saves: Carrier 11
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (13-4) travels to Haverford for the semifinals on Friday.
