Box Score

SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Swarthmore College's perfect start to the 2009 women's lacrosse season came to an emphatic end on Saturday, March 21, as sixth-ranked Gettysburg College handed the Garnet a reality check with an 18-6 Centennial Conference decision at Clothier Field. Junior Hollis Stahl (Highstown, N.J./Peddie School) paced the Bullets with four goals, while junior Nina Emala (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) checked in with three scores and a pair of assists.

Swarthmore (5-1, 0-1 CC) had scored at least 13 goals in its first game games of the season, but on Saturday the hosts had a difficult time cracking the scoring column against Gettysburg (6-0, 2-0 CC) junior goalkeeper Kristen Krammer (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg. Krammer, coming off a season-high 13 saves against No. 20 Elizabethtown College, put in another stellar performance for the Bullets, holding the Garnet at bay with eight first-half saves.

Gettysburg's offense got in the swing of things early as sophomore Heidi Bitter (Darien, Conn./Westminster) scored just 35 seconds into the contest and Stahl followed with the game's second score at 28:33 off a feed by Emala. Swarthmore punched in its first goal on a free position shot by Amy Vachal at 22:19, but the Bullets fired back with eight of the final 10 goals of the opening period, including two by Stahl with under 30 seconds left, to take a 10-3 lead.

After netting the last two goals of the first period, Gettysburg put in the first three of the second half, leading to a 10-goal lead (13-3). The Garnet momentarily halted the clock with a score at 18:36, but freshman Erin McCarthy (Linthicum, Md./Bryn Mawr) scored her first collegiate goal just 12 seconds later to keep the time rolling with a 10-goal advantage. Following Emala's third goal of the afternoon with just over nine minutes left, McCarthy notched her second score at 6:54 from Emala to cap the day's scoring.

Gettysburg doubled Swarthmore's shot total (38-19) and won the battle off the draw 16-10. Stahl connected on half of her team-high eight shots and tied with Emala for the team lead with four draw controls. Junior Jessica Crane (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury) notched a season-high five points on two goals and three assists and contributed three draw controls and two ground balls. Bitter, junior Lexie Hearn (Old Greenwich, Conn./Old Greenwich), and freshman Hannah Church (Ellicott City, Md./Mount de Sales) each tacked on two goals and one assist.

Krammer finished the afternoon with nine saves and four goals allowed in the first 41:36. Sophomore Laura McIntyre (Glenmoore, Pa./Coatesville) finished the game in goal for the Bullets, making a pair of saves.

Vachal netted a pair of goals for Swarthmore, while Allison Grein totaled six ground balls and a dozen saves.

Gettysburg will take brief reprieve from its conference schedule to play a make-up game at Rowan University on Monday, March 23, at 4:30 p.m.