Swarthmore women's soccer preview

After an exciting run to the 2011 Centennial Conference semifinals, a young and balanced Swarthmore College women's soccer team is eager to return to the postseason and challenge for a Centennial championship in 2012.

While the Garnet - picked to finish third in the recent Centennial Conference Preseason Poll - will struggle to replace five versatile members of the 2012 class, the top six scorers are returning to a squad that broke the program scoring record by scoring 37 goals in the regular season and the addition of a ready-to-contribute freshman class has the Garnet dreaming big.

Sophomore Emma Sindelar had a memorable freshman campaign scoring 11 goals and handing out three assists for 25 points while being named First Team All-Centennial. Juniors Megan Brock, who posted five goals and four assists, Amber Famiglietti, with four goals and two assists, and Aly Passanante, who scored three times last year, will join Sindelar in pacing the Swarthmore attack. The four have combined for 78 of the team's 104 returning points.

The entire defensive line returns for the Garnet, anchored by senior Ari Spiegel who was named Honorable Mention All-Centennial last year. In 2011, five freshmen saw significant minutes in the Swarthmore back accounting for a combined 51 starts. Opponents managed fewer than four shots on goal per game last season and another year's experience will help the unit, which conceded only five times in the Garnet's final seven games, to become even stingier this season.

Two goaltenders return for Swarthmore – senior Beth Martin and junior Katie Sipiora, who have combined to surrender less than a goal per game in a handful of appearances over the past two seasons. They will work to replace three-year-starter Marie Mutryn.

Under the direction of head coach Todd Anckaitis, the Garnet open the season on Friday, August 31 against Misericordia in the first game of the Swat Kick Classic, which returns after a year's hiatus. A Sunday, September 2 match with Wellesley concludes the tournament. The Garnet opens Centennial play on the road at Franklin & Marshall before the home Centennial opener a week later against perennial Centennial-contender Dickinson. The team plays 11 of 17 at home in 2012 concluding the regular season with Haverford for Garnet Weekend and Senior Day on October 27.