Women's Lacrosse Ousted from Centennial Conference Playoffs by No. 1 Gettysburg, 18-6

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Despite only being down by four goals at the half, the Swarthmore women's lacrosse team (12-6) fell to the defending national champion Gettysburg Bullets (16-1) on a cloudy Saturday afternoon in Gettysburg.

The Garnet finished its season on a high note, with its first appearance in the Centennial Conference playoffs since 2006 and seeing their offense top the charts in terms of production.

Junior Annalise Penikis and senior Marie Mutryn led the Garnet offense, both scoring two goals and adding an assist. Senior Annelise Mowry and junior Corinne Sommi added one goal apiece and junior Nicole Vanchieri contributed one assist.

In the first half, the Garnet tried its best to contain a powerful Gettysburg offense. The Bullets were the first to see the board with a goal late in the fourth minute off of a free position attempt.

Less than a minute later, Mutryn was able to find the back of the net thanks to a Vanchieri assist to make the score 1-1.

The Bullets were then able to get two past the keeper to go ahead 3-1 with twenty minutes left to play, but the duo of Penikis and Mutryn struck back a minute later to cut Gettysburg's lead to one.

However, the Bullets were able to take advantage of Garnet penalties, and went on a four goal run with three of them being scored off of free position shots.

Mutryn scored another before the end of the first half to make the game 7-3 in favor of Gettysburg.

In the second half it would be the Garnet to start things off. Sommi scored less than a minute into the half to make cut the lead to 7-4.

But the Bullets proved hard to dodge and they went on a six-goal run ending with twenty minutes left in the game to pull ahead by nine, 13-4.

The Garnet showed some fire power in the form of goals from Penikis and Mowry to chip away at Gettysburg's lead, but it would not be enough.

The Bullets scored five more goals before the end of the half to end the game with a final score of 18-6.

Garnet goalies sophomore Michelle Ammerman and senior Hillary Santana finished with four and two saves, respectively.

Though facing a tough loss today, the Garnet has much to be proud about its season. The Garnet women established themselves as a formidable offensive opponent in the Centennial Conference and saw strong production from the team's starters.

Returning most of its core players, the 2013 season looks to be a bright one for the Swarthmore women's lacrosse team.