2005 Recap
In 2005, the men's soccer team consolidated the gains from their breakthrough 2004 season, integrated a large freshman class into the program, and equaled its best ever Centennial Conference record of 6-2-1.
The season began with a two-week trip to England in mid-August. In between sightseeing, community service, and watching a professional contest, the Garnet found time to post a 2-1-1 record against local club teams. After a week of rest back in the states, preseason saw a huge influx of new blood enter the program. 12 freshmen survived the August heat and joined 16 upperclassmen to give the Garnet an extremely deep squad.
For the second straight year, Swarthmore opened its season with a victory in the Garnet Alumni Classic. Stu Leon '09 and Andrew Terker '06 were the goal-scorers in the tourney-clinching 2-1 win over Scranton on September 4. The pair would finish the season one-two in goals scored (six goals and five goals, respectively) and tied for the team-lead with 12 points apiece.
Swarthmore suffered a tough 1-0 home loss to Vassar on September 10th, but this would prove to be the only home loss of the season. The Garnet would finish the season 7-1-2 at home, largely due to the net-minding of Reuben Heyman-Kantor '06. After Vassar's first-half tally, the senior did not allow a goal for a full month; seven full games and 694:47 passed before Alex Pyzik of St. Mary's (MD.) beat Heyman-Kantor during a 1-0 SMC victory on October 10. The school record-setting streak was only 88:13 short of the conference record and stands as the 11th-longest such streak in Division III history.
Heyman-Kantor received plenty of help from his defense during the streak, and through-out the season. Co-captain Alex Elkins '06 became Swarthmore's first ever first team all-Centennial selection for his work at center back. With fellow center back Brendan Grady '08 sidelined with a foot injury for six mid-season games, Darren Johnson '08 stepped up and became an important member of the rotation. Paul Thibodeau '06 and Duncan Gromko '07 provided steady play and youngsters Jeff Kushner '09 and Rory Stackpole '09 injected energy into the backline late in the season. On the season, the Garnet allowed only 16 goals (a clip of 0.89 per game) and their 0.53 goals-against average in CC play ranked second-best.
As the season wore on the highlights continued to pile up. A 2-0 victory over Gettysburg broke a 12-game losing streak to the Bullets that spanned the entire history of the Conference (play began in 1994). A gutsy 1-0 win at Franklin & Marshall moved Swarthmore to 4-0 in Centennial play for the first time ever; four days later, a 3-0 romp over Alvernia improved the Garnet's record to 10-1.
For the second straight year, fall break was unkind to the squad; Swarthmore went 0-1-1 during the break and lost its next two matches as the conference schedule grew increasingly difficult. Losses at Muhlenberg and McDaniel dropped the Garnet from first to third in the conference standings before consecutive wins over Ursinus and Haverford to close out the regular season moved the team back into second place.
Swarthmore said good-bye to its five seniors at the Ursinus game. Terker, Elkins, Thibodeau, Heyman-Kantor, and David Hoyt '06 leave the program in far better shape than they found it, having earned numerous personal honors and two straight conference playoff appearances. On the field, Terker scored the first goal before handing the offensive torch off to Leon, who netted the second of three goals in a 3-0 Swarthmore triumph.
A large contingent of Swarthmore fans made the short trek up the Blue Route to Haverford for the season finale, and they were not disappointed. After a sluggish first half, the Garnet dominated play in the second half but could not find the equalizer until Yoi Tibbets '09 netted his first career goal with under three minutes to play. In overtime, Brandon Washington '06 stole the ball deep in Ford territory and fed Leon for the game-winner.
The Garnet made their second trip of the season to Westminster, Md., this time to play the third-seed Muhlenberg Mules in the CC semifinals. Muhlenberg brought their A-game to this match and defeated the Garnet, 3-0. The Mules stayed hot and, the next day, defeated Gettysburg 2-0 to win the 2005 Centennial Conference Championship.
For the second straight year, Swarthmore received an invitation to the ECAC South Region tournament, this time selected as the #3-seed. In the opening round, Grady converted the game-winner as the Garnet defeated Dickinson on penalty kicks after the teams played to a 0-0 deadlock for 110 minutes. Unfortunately, the semi-finals pitted Swarthmore against Centennial rival Johns Hopkins on Hopkins' Homewood Field, and the finally-healthy Blue Jays defeated the Garnet, 4-1. Swarthmore finished its season with a 12-6-2 record.
Several Garnet earned postseason honors. Elkins became the first Swarthmore soccer played named to the All-Centennial first-team, and later was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Mid-Atlantic All-Region team as a third-team selection. Terker (2nd team) and midfielder Patrick Christmas '08 (honorable mention) joined Elkins on the All-CC squad. Heyman-Kantor was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America first team and the 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Men's Soccer Performer of the Year.
With plenty of talent returning and another large recruiting class on the way, the Garnet will be among the favorites in the CC heading into the 2006 season.