SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Senior Casey Eck (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) and sophomore Julia Soares (Barrington, R.I./Barrington) each scored as Gettysburg College moved one step closer to a playoff spot with a 2-0 victory at Swarthmore College on Saturday.
 
With the victory, Gettysburg (7-7, 5-3 CC) maintained its hold on the fifth spot in the Centennial Conference standings with two games remaining on the schedule. The Bullets sit one game behind Washington College (9-6, 6-2 CC) and Ursinus College (8-7, 6-2 CC) and two games ahead of Dickinson College (8-7, 3-5 CC), Haverford College (8-7, 3-5 CC), and Muhlenberg College (5-9, 3-5 CC). Only the top five teams qualify for the conference tournament.
 
Gettysburg struck early as Eck, who had been sidelined for a month due to injury, redirected a loose ball in front of the cage for her second goal of the season 13:38 into the game. The Bullet defense held Swarthmore (7-8, 2-6 CC) to just one shot on goal in the opening half to preserve the 1-0 advantage.
 
The visitors set up a trio of penalty corners in the opening six minutes of the final stanza and put a pair of shots on goal. Both senior Lily Neibart (Morristown, N.J./Pingry) and freshman Emma Bertrando (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) were denied by Garnet goalie Zelda Bank.
 
Senior Haley Mowery (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Northern) recorded five of her six saves in the second half. With Swarthmore seeking to tie the game, Mowery blocked a pair of attempts by Sophie Peipher with less than 14 minutes remaining.
 
Gettysburg countered on the other end of the field as Soares dribbled into the circle and slotted a shot to the bottom right corner of the cage. It was the sophomore's fourth goal of the season and gave her team an insurmountable advantage with 10 minutes left.
 
The Bullets finished with a 13-8 edge in shots and an 8-6 lead in penalty corners.
 
Gettysburg will seek to clinch a playoff spot when it takes on Johns Hopkins University (11-4, 7-1 CC) Tuesday at 4 p.m. on Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.