Garnet Triple Up Fords
HAVERFORD, Pa. -- Swarthmore rebounded from a 2-1 halftime deficit to earn a hard-fought 3-2 Centennial victory over Haverford in their regular-season finale Sunday afternoon.
It is the 88th meeting between the two schools, with the Garnet (11-3-3, 5-3-1 CC) running their winning streak to four in a row over the Fords (2-14-1, 0-8-1 CC).
The idle Garnet were eliminated from Centennial Conference playoff contention on Saturday, October 26th but rebounded to play one of their best offensive games of the season against their longtime rival.
Just one day after torrential rains forced the postponement of the match, the teams took the field under crisp, sunny skies. Swarthmore had all the early chances, playing fast and loose on offense and generating a number of quick shots. The Fords, though, got on the board first. At 7:12, sophomore Brian Pepe-Mooney (Philadelphia, Penn. / Germantown Friends) bent a cross between two defenders and onto the head of freshman Max Stossel, who knocked it well out of the reach of Swarthmore senior goalkeeper Ryan Sutcliffe (Milford, DE / Milford) for his fourth goal of the season.
Unfazed by the quick strike, the Garnet came right back and got the equalizer just 69 seconds later. Junior Evan Nesterak (Parker, CO / Ponderosa) fed classmate Yoi Tibbetts (Sandwich, Mass. / Sandwich) up the right wing. Tibbetts took two touches to get free before tickling the twine for the third time in 2007 from 15 yards out.
Haverford’s air game struck again in the 27th minute. Off of a free kick, junior John Valantassis (Demarest, N.J. / Northern Village Reg.) hit a ball very similar to Pepe-Mooney’s right onto the head of freshman Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley (New York, N.Y. / Westtown School), who directed it into the top right corner with 18:18 on the clock.
Once again, the Garnet responded by pressing the attack. Junior Rory Stackpole (Sanford, Me. / Sanford) and sophomore Dylan Langley (Honolulu, HI / Iolani) nearly connected for a goal, and Swarthmore got chances off of two corner kicks before the ball crossed the midfield stripe.
Haverford goalkeeper Adam Care (Manhasset, N.Y. / Manhasset) preserved the lead with a huge save on Garnet freshman Morgan Langley (Honolulu, Hi. / Iolani) from point-blank range in the 42nd minute, and the Fords maintained their 2-1 lead heading into the intermission.
Swarthmore’s next scoring chance came in the 60th minute. Senior midfielder Andrew Macurdy (Lumberton, N.J. / Rancocas Valley) put the ball onto the head of junior back Jeff Kushner (Norristown, Pa. / Methacton), who headed it back across the goal. Senior Brendan Grady (San Jose, Calif. / Bellarmine) touched the ball towards the net, but Valantassis slid into the ball, knocking it out of bounds.
Three minutes later, off of yet another corner kick, the Garnet finally broke through. Macurdy floated the ball into a crowd in front of the goal and Kushner rose sky-high to head it home. With 27:18 to play, the score was now 2-2.
Swarthmore nearly grabbed their first lead just minutes later, when freshman Toby Resch’s (Pfungstadt, Germany / Ludwig Georg) cross found the head of junior Ladule Lako Lo Sarah (Davis, Cali. Claremont). Care made a diving save to keep the game tied.
Sutcliffe came up huge in the 76th minute, using every inch of his long reach to deflect a Debucquoy-Dodley shot just over the crossbar. Good passing earned the Fords another good chance a few minutes later, but freshman James Hercher (Scarsdale, N.Y. / Edgemont High) shot the ball just wide.
After applying consistent pressure all game long, the Garnet finally went ahead on a breakaway. Sitting 25 yards out, Nesterak received a long pass with nobody to beat but the goalkeeper. The junior took his time, drawing Care out of the net, then calmly tapped the ball into the inside corner with 7:25 to play.
The excitement continued right up to the final horn, with Haverford sending the ball towards the net several times, but the hosts could not get a good shot off and the Garnet wrapped up the victory.
Swarthmore’s dominance was reflected in their 20-8 shot advantage and 15-3 edge in corner kicks. Sutcliffe made two saves to earn his 10th win of the year; Care made seven stops for the Fords.
The Garnet now await the announcement of the East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region tournament bracket. The tournament selection and seeding will occur on Monday, November 5th.