Box Score

SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Sophomore Jordann Smak (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) scored a goal for the third consecutive match and senior goalkeeper Danielle St. Pierre (Londonderry, N.H./Trinity) made a pair of overtime saves in helping the Gettysburg College women's soccer team manage a 1-1 tie with regionally-ranked Swarthmore College in a Centennial Conference contest on Saturday afternoon.

The decision at Swarthmore (9-3-2, 5-1-2 CC) lifts Gettysburg (5-5-5, 4-3-1 CC) into a tie for the fifth and final playoff spot for the upcoming Centennial Conference Tournament with just one week remaining in the regular season. The two teams the Bullets are tied with, Muhlenberg College and Franklin & Marshall College, were idle Saturday after their match up against one another was postponed due to weather. The Mules and Diplomats square off Sunday, Oct. 26.

One year removed from an upset of the then nationally-ranked Garnet, the Bullets once again showed they can hang with the powers in the region. Swarthmore, ranked sixth in the Mid-Atlantic Region, found itself losing the advantage on shots 6-4 in the opening half, but the Garnet went into the break with a 1-0 advantage after Kelsey Kline redirected a shot in the 28th minute.

After Swarthmore posted the first shot of the second half, Gettysburg powered up for its first offensive strike of the final period by forcing a corner kick. Freshman Lauren Johnson (Morristown, N.J./Morristown-Beard) fired a pass into the box and a header by sophomore Casey Harper (Ocean View, N.J./Ocean City) was turned away by Garnet goalie Lauren Walker. The Bullets reset for another corner kick and this time Johnson found Smak who kicked home the game-tying conversion at 59:22 for her third goal of the season. Johnson recorded her fifth assist this fall on the play.

Freshman Sam Hellerman (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) managed the next shot on goal for either team, but once again Walker was there for the stop. Swarthmore fired each of the final three shots of regulation with the final attempt clanging off the cross bar with just over six minutes remaining.

In the first extra session, Gettysburg held a 3-1 shot advantage, but all of those attempts were wide of the mark, bringing about a final overtime period. The Garnet held sway in that final stanza with four shot attempts, including two on goal, but St. Pierre came up with a pair of tie-preserving saves, the last with just 15 seconds remaining.

Despite going in as the underdog, Gettysburg held Swarthmore to a one-shot advantage overall (14-13) and took the same number of corner kicks as the hosts (7-7). Hellerman accounted for four of the Bullets shots, while Smak, Harper, and freshman Sara Montague (Newark, Del./St. Mark's) each took a pair of attempts. St. Pierre finished the day with a trio of saves.

Sarah Reece led the Garnet with four shots, while Cline and Emily Coleman each fired a trio of attempts. Walker made four saves.

Gettysburg faces a pair of teams in the thick of the Centennial playoff race in the final week of the regulation. First, the Bullets will face off with Dickinson College (9-3-3, 5-2-1 CC) on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 4:30 p.m. in Carlisle, Pa. The Orange & Blue close the regular season at home against Muhlenberg College (9-4-2, 4-2-1 CC) next Saturday, Nov. 1, at 4:30 p.m.