Swarthmore Denies Crusaders
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Swarthmore sophomore forward Yoi Tibbetts gave the Garnet men's soccer team the only offense of the evening in 1-0 Swarthmore victory over visiting Alvernia Wednesday night.
The warm evening at Clothier Field welcomed 165 patrons to a non-conference battle featuring two of the best teams in the region. The Crusaders (10-4-2) have already put together the best season in program history and were recently ranked 10th in the NSCAA/adidas regional poll while the Garnet (9-4-1) are already assured of its third consecutive winning season and find themselves in thick of a heated Centennial Conference playoff race (Swarthmore has also been listed on the NSCAA/adidas regional poll multiple times in recent years) .
The game was evenly played through the first 45 minutes - each team got off four shots while the score remained knotted at 0-0.
Swarthmore ended the scoreless tie in the 79th minute when Tibbetts headed in his fifth goal of the season. The game-winning play began with a free kick at midfield that junior captain Brendan Grady floated deep into the Crusaders' box. Classmate Darren Johnson headed the moon shot onto the far post where Tibetts found the left side of the net with a neck-snapper, beating Crusaders' keeper Richard Kessler at 78:30.
The score is the fifth of the season for Tibbets - a career-high and tops on the team.
Garnet goalkeeper Ryan Sutcliffe '08 survived a couple of skirmishes in front of his net, posting two saves for his fourth shut out this year - the junior has not been scored on in his last 277:35 of action. Kessler made one save in net for Alvernia.
The Garnet held a slight shot advantage (9-7) while the corner kicks listed even at three apiece.
Swarthmore resumes the race for a coveted conference playoff spot on Saturday, Oct. 21 when they host Centennial rival McDaniel at 7:00 p.m.