By Chrissy Segrest
Elm Staff Writer
On Tuesday, Oct. 31, the Shorewomen took on Haverford College on Washington College’s home turf in the first round of Centennial Conference playoffs. Both teams came out eager and excited to play. WC came out feeling they had the advantage, as they beat Haverford earlier this month.
For WC, the win meant continuing in playoffs for a chance to play in the NCAA’s. The Shorewomen were able to keep the score even until overtime, when the Fords took the lead for the win.
Starting the game, both teams were off the scoreboard until 13:54 when standout freshman Kailyn Brandt scored from the top of the circle to put WC ahead. Junior Emily Pantazes fed the ball to junior Nicole Schroyer, who then assisted on Brandt’s goal.
“Being able to get a point on the board was a good feeling but our entire team contributed to get it in the back of the cage. From our forwards to our midfield to our defense to our keeper to our sideline, everyone made that goal possible,” Brandt said. “We have such a supportive group of girls, and even though we didn’t end with a win, there’s no other group of people I would have wanted to take on this challenge with.”
As the crowd went wild, all Brandt could think about was how it felt and what it meant for the team she said.
The Shorewomen kept HC off the board until 18:03, when Haverford scored their first goal of the night. Throughout the rest of the half, and all of the second half, no one was able to score. Junior Morgan Domanico had two saves, and kept the score even.
At the start of overtime, both teams came out hungry for a victory. At 1:54, a shot was taken on Domanico, but she was able to block the shot and clear it before entering the net. Only a minute later, Brandt went back for another shot but was deflected high. The last shot of the night was taken by Haverford and found its way to the back of the box for the win.
Looking forward, Brandt believes next year’s season is going to be a great one, even with the loss of five important seniors she said.
“We do have a very strong and experienced group coming back next season and I think knowing what we weren’t able accomplish will be motivation to get even farther next year.”