SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Dickinson women's soccer team gave it all they had all night, but were ultimately done in by a bouncing ball off a corner kick in the 77th-minute to allow the host and 20th-ranked Swarthmore College Garnet to claim a 1-0 Centennial Conference win on a cold and rainy Saturday night at Clothier Field.
Dickinson applied pressure right off the bat as both
Emily Dunkel and
Ava Prisco forced saves out of Lila Travers within the opening four minutes. Then the home side flipped momentum as four shots by Ava Gizzie tasked
Elizabeth Allen with making three stops, before an offering by Veronica Gibbons sailed over her head in the 24th. The Devils went back on the attack recording three more shots thanks to
Norah Heacock,
Maddie St. Amand and
Katie Vassilakos, but none of them asked any questions of Travers. Allen would be called upon once more in the half as Allie Zitelli was denied by the keeper. Dickinson recorded the last chance of the period as
Emma Cooney was blocked by the defense to send the match to the break at 0-0.
Swarthmore used the opening 15-minutes of half number two to put DC on the "back foot" as Liesel Blau, Marea Lee and Gizzie combined for five shots forcing two stops out of Allen. St. Amand and Heacock would both miss to the left of goal in minutes 62 and 66 respectively, before Vassilakos worked herself free for a shot at the 66:29 mark, but was stoned by Travers. The Garnet tallied the ensuing three shots with Allen turning one to the side in the 74th. However, in the 76th-minute a corner played in by Keren Maze from the right-wing landed inside the six-yard box and was poked in by Zitelli for the 1-0 lead. Dickinson stormed back down the pitch in search of the equalizer, unfortunately, both
Bridget Merkel and
Ellie Nordwind were shutdown by Travers to allow the home side to see out the 1-0 final.
Red Devil Leaders
Shots - Vassilakos (3), Cooney, Heacock, Merkel and St. Amand (2)
Saves - Allen (8)
Garnet Leaders
Goals - Zitelli (1)
Shots - Gizzie (11), Zitelli (4)
Saves - Travers (5)
Next on the Pitch
Dickinson (7-6-1, 3-4-1 Centennial) currently occupies the final spot in the Centennial Conference postseason picture with just two conference matches remaining. The Red and White will look to build on their chances on Saturday afternoon at 4pm when they travel to Ursinus College for a pivotal conference clash.
Â
