Swarthmore Upends Ursinus for First-Ever CC Tourney Win

Annalise Penikis, Swarthmore

Led by an outstanding five-goal, two-assist performance from All-America candidate Annalise Penikis, the No. 5 seed Swarthmore College women's lacrosse (12-5) held off a furious second-half rally from homestanding No. 4 seed Ursinus (9-8) and defeated the Bears 11-10 on Wednesday evening in the Opening Round of the Centennial Conference Women's Lacrosse Playoffs from Patterson Field.

With the win, the Garnet advances to the Centennial Conference semifinals to face No. 1 seed and defending national champion Gettysburg. That game will take place on Saturday, April 28 at 1:00 pm from the Battlefield.

The history-making win marks the first Centennial Conference playoff victory in program history and just the second win over Ursinus since 1994.

Sophomore Corinne Sommi and senior Annelise Mowry each added two goals for Swarthmore while senior Marie Mutryn and junior Beth Martin also scored.

Penikis also made history herself, as her seven-point performance helped her eclipse the 200-points plateau for her career, becoming just the seventh player in program history to reach that feat.

While Annalise Penikis rightfully gets the accolades, it was Annelise Mowry that may have won the game for the Garnet. Thanks to a lightning-quick four-goal run from Ursinus, Swarthmore's five-goal second half lead was trimmed to just 10-9 with under seven minutes to play. With her team on the ropes, Mowry netted the eventual game-winner with 6:14 to play with help on the assist from sophomore Lucy Whitacre, making it an 11-9 games.

Ursinus had the immediate answer, as Lauren Garganio scored for the Bears just 29 seconds later again make it a one-goal game at 11-10. But over the final five minutes, Swarthmore used its ball control and some excellent keep away tactics to win the game.

Thanks to a crucial draw control win on an all-out hustle play from senior Maddie Williams, the Garnet maintained possession and held on to it for three minutes before finally turning it over. With a chance to tie the game in the final two minutes, Ursinus made a costly blunder by drawing an offside penalty with just 1:30 to play, surrendering the ball to Swat. Ninety seconds from victory, Swarthmore maintained possession until the final buzzer sounded, securing the history-making win.

In goal for the Garnet, sophomore Michelle Ammerman played an excellent game, saving eight shots. The defense as a whole played one of its best games of the season, led by sophomore Caroline Murphy's three caused turnovers and four ground balls.

                      Swarthmore (12-5) vs. Ursinus (9-8)
Date: Apr 25, 2012  Location: Collegeville, Pa.     Stadium: Patterson Field
Attendance:123   Start time:7:02 pm   End time:8:41 pm   Total time:1:39


SCORE BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Swarthmore..........  4  7 - 11
Ursinus.............  4  6 - 10

Swarthmore SCORING: GOALS: Annalise Penikis 5; Corinne Sommi 2;
Annelise Mowry 2; Marie Mutryn 1; Beth Martin 1.
ASSISTS: Annalise Penikis 2; Marie Mutryn 1; Lucy Whitacre 1.

Ursinus SCORING: GOALS: Kitty Dawson 3; Emily Diehl 2; Lauren Garganio
2; Kim Peifer 2; Amber Moyer 1.
ASSISTS: Kitty Dawson 1; Emily Diehl 1; Lauren Garganio 1.

Swarthmore GROUND BALLS: Caroline Murphy 4; Maddie Williams 4;
Annalise Penikis 2; Lucy Whitacre 2; Michelle Ammerman 1; Beth Martin
1; Marie Mutryn 1; Samantha Panepinto 1; Camilla Seirup 1; Nicole
Vanchieri 1.

Ursinus GROUND BALLS: Riley Pembroke 5; Kitty Dawson 2; Lauren
Garganio 2; Claire Yergeau 2; Caroline Cannon 1; Emily Diehl 1; Amber
Moyer 1; Courtney Stewart 1.

Swarthmore TURNOVERS CAUSED: Caroline Murphy 3; Lucy Whitacre 2;
Maddie Williams 2; Beth Martin 1; Samantha Panepinto 1; Annalise
Penikis 1.
Ursinus TURNOVERS CAUSED: Katie McEwen 2; Courtney Stewart 1; Alyssa
Thren 1.

SHOTS - Swarthmore 34; Ursinus 24.
SHOTS ON GOAL - Swarthmore 24; Ursinus 18.

TURNOVERS - Swarthmore 7; Ursinus 13.

FACEOFFS - Swarthmore 0-0; Ursinus 0-0.

CLEARS - Swarthmore 12-12; Ursinus 11-14.

GOALIES - SWAT: Michelle Ammerman (60:00 minutes, 18 shots-8 saves, 10
GA); UC: Riley Pembroke (60:00, 24-13, 11).

Start time: 7:02 pm   Finish time: 8:41 pm   Length of game: 1:39
Officials:. Scorer: UC Sports Info.

A-123 T-1:39