By Josh Niswander
Senior Writer
The Washington College women’s soccer team is looking to finish their season strong under Head Coach Tom Reilly. The Shorewomen started off the season by winning four of their first five games. Since then, the team has competed hard, translating their valiant efforts into wins.
WC hosted Swarthmore, ranked No. 23 in the nation, at home on Oct. 4 under the lights on Kibler Field at Roy Kirby, Jr. Stadium.
Swarthmore recorded the first four shots on goal in the game, but starting goalkeeper freshman Annalie Buscarino was able to save them all.
“Swarthmore has a lot of talented attacking players and they put tremendous pressure on our backs and midfielders,” Reilly said.
The Shorewomen had the next pair of scoring chances courtesy of junior Lauren Neary and freshman Emily Caldarelli.
“I was running up the field with Emily when she passed to me and I tried to aim it near post, but I was just a few inches off which was very disappointing,” Neary said.
A few minutes after the Shorewomen were unable to take advantage of their early chances, Swarthmore netted the first goal of the game at the 28:30 mark. Swarthmore was able to tack on another goal roughly 15 minutes later to extend their halftime lead to 2-0 at the break.
In the second half, both Swarthmore and WC were able to score once. Junior Olivia Sabatino was able to put WC on the scoreboard courtesy of a well-placed free kick with just under five minutes remaining to make the final tally 3-1 in favor of Swarthmore.
“Our girls did not quit and actually played a good last 40 minutes. I honestly think we are capable of playing well enough to compete with the big name schools in our conference. I do not think that day is too far away. I am proud of our response to falling behind and glad we went down swinging,” Reilly said.
WC traveled to compete at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Penn. on Oct. 7, for a Saturday afternoon game.
At the half, WC led 1-0 courtesy of the Sabatino twins, as Olivia found Arianna off a corner kick to give the Shorewomen an early advantage they would take into the break.

Unfortunately, after halftime Dickinson was able to find their offensive game and put constant pressure on WC.
“We switched from 4-4-2 to what we hoped would be a more secure 4-2-3-1, but in hindsight I may have handed the initiative to Dickinson. We never regained our attacking threat even after we made changes midway through the second half,” Reilly said.
Dickinson was able to net three goals in the second half and prevail by a score of 3-1.
“We competed well in the second half, but we just could not make the plays to get to goal,” Neary said.
The Shorewomen then traveled to Haverford College on Oct. 11 for a Wednesday afternoon game at Walton Field.
The Fords were able to score twice in the first half, add another goal in the second half, and held the Shorewomen scoreless in route to a 3-0 victory.
“Haverford was successful at exploiting some of the gaps in our backline, and they were able to capitalize on some of them,” senior Steph Scott said.
The Shorewomen hope to finish their season competing hard.
“In our remaining games I would like to see us put in a complete 90 minute performance. I have seen some really good performances in training and we have seen progress in all areas of our team. I think an all-around great game day is only a matter of time,” Reilly said.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, the Shorewomen hosted the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats for their senior game. The seniors were recognized and celebrated prior to the 2-1 overtime win.
Olivia Sabatino broke the WC women’s soccer record for number of career points with her goal during the game. Olivia Sabatino scored at the 75:02 mark off a long cross from Caldarelli.
Arianna Sabatino scored the game winning goal in overtime off a pass from sophomore Cayla Marcinko in the box.
The Shorewomen rotated through three goalkeepers during the game. Senior Kat Moore, junior Courtney Colbert and Buscarino all saw time in Saturday’s game.
Up next for the Shorewomen is a home game vs. Ursinus at 7 p.m. on Oct. 25.