Garnet Stomp on Fords, Clinch #3 Playoff Seed
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Swarthmore rolled into the playoffs in style, breaking open a scoreless match with two late first-half goals, cruising to a 3-0 win over rival Haverford on a cool Saturday night. The Garnet clinch the 3rd seed in the Centennial Conference playoffs with the win.
Swarthmore entered the game knowing that they had a spot in the playoffs after Dickinson and Gettysburg played to a 0-0 tie earlier in the evening but the possibility of earning the #3 seed (and avoiding an opening-round game) with a win, as well as the opportunity to beat Haverford for a third straight time, gave the team plenty to play for.
The Garnet dominated the first half, racking up a 12-5 shot advantage, but could not find the net for the first 40 minutes as attempts sailed high, wide, and into the arms of Haverford netminder Adam Care.
Finally, sophomore forward Stu Leon broke out of a personal goal-scoring slump and got the Garnet on the board. Leon took a J.P. Faunes '08 feed on the run headed up the field, dribbed into space, and shot the ball past Care at 40:26, breaking a 10-game goalless streak.
Just 33 seconds later, junior Michael Bonesteel made it a 2-0, converting a shot from left of the goal after receiving a nice feed from Ladule Lako Lo Sarah '09. The score was Bonesteel's fourth on the season.
Bangs made his senior night memorable by assisting on the next Garnet goal. The senior collected the ball near the endline to the right of the goal, lofted a cross, and saw it get put home by junior Brandon Washington at 50:07.
Things nearly got even better for Bangs when, after getting fouled in the box, he attempted a penalty kick in the 58th minute, but Ford goalkeeper Jim Wiltsee (who had entered at halftime) made a superb diving save.
As time wound down, both teams inserted their reserves and play became wild and wooly, but no more goals were scored.
The Garnet finished the game with a 21-11 shot advantage. Junior Ryan Sutcliffe made a total of two saves in goal before exiting with 37:53 to play in favor of Zach Weimar '10, who did not have to make a save while wrapping up the shutout.
The win, coupled with the Garnet women's 1-0 triumph over Haverford earlier in the day, gives Swarthmore its first season sweep of the Fords (2-14-1, 1-7-1 CC) in soccer since 1986, when the men won 1-0 and the women 4-1.
Swarthmore (12-4-1, 6-3 CC) will be the third seed in the upcoming Centennial tournament, earning them to a rematch with #2-seed Franklin & Marshall. The Diplomats downed the Garnet 1-0 on a late goal in their September 30th regular-season match. Day and time of the semifinal match is unknown and will be available following a conference call on Monday.