2007 Team Preview
Swarthmore men's soccer has been brought back to life by sixth-year head coach Eric Wagner and the current senior class-owners of a 36-18-6 record with three CC playoff appearances and ECAC Tournament berths. Visitors to Clothier Field find out the hard way just what makes Wagner's squads so successful (Swarthmore is 24-5-5 at home in the last three years). His intensity and attention to detail are evident in the players' challenge for every pass and free ball. The Swarthmore soccer players are intellectually gifted by nature and Wagner parlays that rare double into a team that commits few errors in front of the net. The 2007 Garnet are deep in numbers and talent at each position, giving Wagner the ability to pressure opponents with the fresh legs of a hungry team.
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| All-Region back Brenday Grady leads the Swarthmore defense. |
The Swarthmore backline is led by senior captain Brendan Grady (San Jose, Calif. / Bellarmine College Prep), an All-Region selection in 2006, juniors Jeff Kushner (Norristown, Pa. / Methacton) and Rory Stackpole (Sanford, Maine / Sanford). Grady brings tactical speed and keen anticipation to surprise many a Centennial forward who ventures into the Garnet box. Kushner is the stout front among the defenders, continuing the hard-nosed tradition laid by 2005 All-Region center back Alex Elkins '06 (the first-year captain also tallied his first career goal vs. McDaniel in 2006). Stackpole has made 13 starts in two seasons on the outside and junior Christopher Szeto (Chapel Hill, N.C. / East Chapel Hill), looks to continue his successful transition after playing the majority of his career in the midfield. Look for senior Darren Johnson (Lexington, Va. / Rockbridge County) to also play a bigger role in the defensive scheme in 2007.
Senior Ryan Sutcliffe (Milford, Del. / Milford) will get several starts between the goal posts after registering a 0.59 save percentage (among the best in school history) last season. Sutcliffe, in his first year as the starter, recorded six shutouts and was honored as the Centennial Conference Player of the Week on Sept. 5. Nipping at Sutcliffe's heels is local product Zach Weimar '10 (Rutledge, Pa. / Friends Central), who appeared in 10 games (three starts) last season.
The Garnet midfield is bursting with talent in 2007, led by seniors Pat Christmas (Chapel Hill, N.C. / East Chapel Hill), J.P. Faunes (Austin, Tex. / LBJ), Michael Bonesteel (Clifton Park, N.Y. / LaSalle Institute) and Andrew Macurdy (Lumberton, N.J. / Rancocas Valley). Christmas has worn the captain's armband each of the last two years, starting every game in his three-year career (60 total). Following the 2006 season, the three-time captain was an All-Region selection and became just the second Swarthmore player named first-team All-Centennial (Christmas was Honorable Mention in 2005). Faunes is a top set-up man for Swarthmore, having accumulated six assists in the past two seasons while Macurdy brings strong ball handling skills to the midfield. Bonesteel's nose for the ball (team-high 14 goals in three seasons) gives Wagner the option of playing the New York-native on the outside or up top. Bonesteel, the Centennial Conference Player of the Week on Oct. 30, will be joined by speedsters Evan Nesterak '09 (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa) and Dylan Langley '10 (Honolulu, Hawaii / Iolani School).
The big question surrounding the 2007 Garnet is their ability to put the ball in the net. It's been 12 years since a Swarthmore male scored 10 goals in a single season-the last was David Lane '97 who notched 10 scores in 1995. The top scoring threat amongst the stable of Garnet forwards is junior forward Yoi Tibbetts (Sandwich, Mass. / Sandwich). Tibbets broke out in 2006, tying with classmate Stu Leon (Wrentham, Mass. / King Philip Regional) for the team-lead in goals (five) and points (11), notching a career-high five goals on just 19 shots. Leon, an All-Centennial honorable mention selection in 2006, made 16 starts, tallying three game-winners, including the deciding score with 45 seconds left in overtime to give Swarthmore a 1-0 win over Eastern in the Garnet Classic on Sept. 5 - Leon was named All-Tournament for the second straight year.
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| Stu Leon '09 has scored a team-best 11 goals the past two seasons. |
Another junior, Ladulé Lako Lo Sarah (Davis, Calif. / Claremont), has shown flashes of offensive brilliance (team-high seven assists the last two seasons) and should continue to produce after a strong spring season. Sophomore Andrés Freire (Philadelphia, Pa. / Central) is one of the faster players on the roster, and after appearing in 17 games last year, provides Wagner with another pawn in the Swarthmore offensive attack.
The Garnet open up the 2007 schedule with the 10th-annual Garnet Alumni Classic, gracing the Clothier pitch on Sept. 1 at 7:00 p.m. against Delaware Valley. After facing the Merchant Marine Academy on Sept. 2, Swarthmore will be on the road for four matches, including a trip to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. where the team will take on Skidmore and Montclair State. A large test looms once the Garnet return to campus- nationally-ranked defending Centennial champion Johns Hopkins comes to campus for a 7:00 p.m. match on Sept. 15. Swarthmore's Centennial schedule sets up favorably in 2007 as the other two playoff teams from 2006, Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall, will have to come to campus to meet the Garnet.