Grady Is Golden; Garnet in ECAC Semis
Swarthmore , PA - Swarthmore sophomore defender Brendan Grady ( San Jose, CA / Bellarmine College) converted the final penalty kick of a best-of-five shootout to send the home-standing Garnet past visiting Dickinson on Wednesday evening in quarterfinal action of the 2005 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III Southern Region Championship Tournament.
After an hour and twenty-three minute delay due to heavy traffic in the Philadelphia area, Swarthmore (12-5-2) and Dickinson (12-5-1) battled to a 0-0 tie through 110 minutes of action on Clothier Field. The Garnet, seeded third, advanced into the ECAC semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 12, facing No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins at 2:00 p.m. in Baltimore, Md.
This is the second consecutive appearance for Swarthmore in the E.C.A.C. Southern Region semifinals; the Garnet defeated Washington & Jefferson 5-3 on Clothier Field in 2004.
Swarthmore held a 13-8 shot advantage at the end of regulation while, the Red Devils controlled play in the overtime periods, holding a 4-2 edge in shots and 2-1 in corner kicks.
Garnet senior goalkeeper Reuben Heyman-Kantor ( New York City / Riverdale Country) made three saves in overtime to keep Swarthmore alive. Heyman-Kantor received help from freshman defender Rory Stackpole ( Sanford, ME / Sanford), who cleared an apparent Dickinson goal with 1:12 remaining.
Dickinson went first in the penalty kick shoot-out and Heyman-Kantor immediately gave Swarthmore momentum, making a diving stop on a shot from Red Devils' freshman defender Tyler Zentz ( Lutherville, MD / Towson).
Garnet senior co-captain Alex Elkins (Berkeley Heights, NJ / The Pingry School), senior forward Andrew Terker (Allentown, PA / Moravian Academy), and sophomore forward Brandon Washington (Mesquite, TX / Greenhill School) all converted into the left side of the goal, while Dickinson only managed on score as Swarthmore built a 3-1 edge after three rounds.
Dickinson junior midfielder Tim Fauquier (Bethesda, MD / Winston Churchill) and sophomore forward Bobby Malek (Darnestown, MD / Bullis School) answered for the Red Devils, while Swarthmore sophomore midfielder Patrick Christmas (Chapel Hill, NC / East Chapel Hill) missed wide left, evening the score at 3-3.
Grady calmly walked from midfield and drove the ball into the left side panel to continue Swarthmore's 2005 season.
Heyman-Kantor and Dickinson senior goalkeeper Aaron Stemplewicz ( Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks West) made five saves apiece.