By Pat Mariboe
Senior Sports Writer
1. Men’s Soccer 2-1 Victory vs. Dickinson
The stage was set for the Shoremen as they faced off against Dickinson in their Centennial Conference opener on Sept. 17. Heading into the contest, the Shoremen hadn’t beaten the Red Devils in nine straight games and also hadn’t won their Conference opener in 10 years, so the pressure was on for the squad.
It was action packed right from the start, as both teams fought back and forth to notch the first goal of the game. That important goal came for the Shoremen in the 28th minute, when senior Cole Strong had his 20 yard effort find the right side of the net for the 1-0 lead. Twenty minutes into the second half, Dickinson found the equalizer when after some shaky defending on a set piece, the Red Devils nodded a header past sophomore goalkeeper Josh Samuels in the 67th minute. There were a few more close chances for both sides, but at the end of 90, both teams were tied at one, so the game went to overtime.
It was only seven minutes into overtime when a Shoremen player got fouled 30 yards away from the Dickinson goal, resulting in a free kick for the home side. Freshman Griffin Bull favored his chances at the opportunity, seeing as he scored a perfectly placed free kick from the same distance a few weeks prior in a 2-1 loss against Hampden-Sydney. Bull had his sight on goal, took a quick run up, and curled the ball past the outstretched Dickinson goalkeeper to win the game 2-1. Bull took a Ronaldo-esque knee slide into the horde of his jubilant teammates as he got swallowed up under the pile of players.
“Scoring the game winner was indescribable in what I felt,” said Bull. “It meant so much to me because our seniors deserve every win this season because of the hard work they’ve done in previous years.”
The Shoremen went on to win their following game against Wesley 2-0, and hope to keep up their streak when they face off in another CC contest against #8 Franklin and Marshall on Saturday.
2. Field Hockey 7-0 Victory vs. Wesley
The Shorewomen got off to a poor start this season, losing their first five games. Although statistically the team can’t be happy with their current record, several of those games were lost in very close fashions. They suffered a 4-2 loss to Roanoke, a 2-1 loss against Stevenson, and a heartbreaking 2-1 Double OT loss to Johns Hopkins. Needless to say, the goals and effort were there, but the Shorewomen just couldn’t find the breakthrough in these matches. The Shorewomen finally broke their winless curse, however, when they ran rampant against the Wesley Wolverines in a 7-0 thumping.
Sophomore Olivia Auer started the team’s dominant performance, as she scored her first collegiate goal 10 minutes into the contest. Auer then added another goal to her tally three minutes later when she scored off a brilliant solo effort. Senior Allison Remenapp scored the Shorewomen’s final goal of the half off a penalty corner.
The goals kept coming for the Shorewomen in the second half, as sophomore Emily Pantazes, sophomore Clare Ingersoll, freshman Molly Johnston, and sophomore Alison Pantazes helped lead the Shorewomen to a dominating 7-0 win.
“Winning feels great, and I think losing the first five games made this win feel even better,” said sophomore Kerrigan Buck. “It’s an incredible feeling to put in so much hard work and have it finally pay off.”
The Shorewomen’s next matches are against Gettysburg on Sept. 24 and Bryn Mawr on Sept. 27.
“The games will be tough, but we will find a way to play our best hockey,” said Buck. “We need to bring the same energy and hustle that we had during the Wesley game. If we can do that, it will be hard for other teams to beat us, especially since we’re coming off such a great win.”
3. Women’s Soccer 8-0 Victory vs. Rosemont
The Shorewomen got their season off to a flying start when they squashed visitors Rosemont in an 8-0 contest. The eight goals scored in the game were the most the Shorewomen had scored in a single game in 12 years.
“The team came into that game with lots of energy,” said head coach Kerry Smith. “They had worked really hard in preseason and even before that in the summer and spring, so it was nice to see them be rewarded for that.”
Junior Steph Scott started off the scoring in the 10th minute when a corner kick by fellow junior Maribeth Harrington got fumbled by the goalkeeper and landed to Scott, who tapped the ball home for the first tally of the game. The Shorewomen weren’t done yet, as sophomore Arianna Sabatino notched two goals in quick succession, in the 32nd and 33rd minute. Her sister, sophomore Olivia Sabatino wanted to get in on the act, and added another goal for the Shorewomen in the 35th minute.
In the second half, Olivia and Arianna both showed their dominance yet again as they scored back to back goals in the 50th and 61st minute, giving Olivia two goals on the night and Arianna a hat-trick. Freshman Kylie Heath scored from a cross in the 68th minute and junior Hayley Hartman finished off the scoring in the 90th minute to take an 8-0 win. Washington College had 20 shots on the day while Rosemont managed only four.
“The Rosemont game was a true team effort,” said Smith. “When you look at where the goals came from, there were multiple players involved, and for many of the goals, the movement off the ball in the attack played a major role. Arianna and Olivia made big contributions, but as a team, we place a bigger emphasis on the teamwork that goes into creating those scoring opportunities. Both on and off the field, Olivia and Arianna have significant impact as leaders, and I’ve seen them both continue to grow as student-athletes and leaders which is the main goal of our program.”
4. Kaitlyn Marino’s Special September
The Washington College Volleyball Team, who currently hold a 6-5 overall record on the season, can credit a lot of their success to sophomore standout Kaitlyn Marino. Marino was first awarded for her efforts on September 6th, when she was given the title of Centennial Conference Volleyball Player of the Week. Marino led all players in 17 kills and had 10 digs in the team’s win against Rutgers-Camden earlier in the season. Against Gwynedd Mercy she had a dominating 12 kills and 11 digs. Against Baruch and DeSales, she finished with 10 and 12 kills, respectively. This was the first time Marino had won this award.
Marino’s fine form only climbed from there, as she went on to win the same award only a week later. She had a .244 hitting percentage during the week and also had 20 kills and 12 digs in the team’s win over Alvernia. The following day after receiving her second straight weekly Conference recognition, Marino was named Shorewoman of the week for her all of her efforts. The Shorewomen hope Marino can keep up her amazing form in the upcoming Centennial Conference matches.